TRANSPORT

Bus Services

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the role of his Department in the dissemination of best practice on bus services.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport plays an active role in disseminating good practice in the bus sector, both alone and in partnership with other stakeholders in the industry and local authorities. Recent examples include a "Good Practice Guide on rural bus service provision" and revised guidance on "Protecting Bus and Coach Crews".

Transport Schemes

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assistance his Department gives to local government in respect of formulating bids for (a) light rail and (b) other transport schemes.

Tony McNulty: We are always happy to discuss with local authorities, without prejudice, emerging proposals for light rail and other local transport schemes, and to explain what information will be required to support any bids for funding. A manual of guidance on our appraisal methodology is also available.

Speed Cameras

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the (a) amount of and (b) uses of revenue from speed cameras.

David Jamieson: The latest audited figures are for the year 2000–01, in which £8.6 million of speeding fine receipts was passed to seven safety camera partnerships, and for 2001–02 in which £11.4 million was passed to 14 safety camera partnerships in England and Wales. In those two years £1.2 million and £4.3 million respectively, was returned to the Treasury.

Speed Cameras

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money raised in fines from speed cameras during the last year for which records are available was spent in (a) Billericay and District, (b) Basildon and District and (c) Essex; and how that money was spent.

David Jamieson: In 2001–02 the Essex Safety Camera Partnership claimed £3,003,763 to cover the costs of purchasing and operating cameras in their area which includes Billericay and Basildon, for which separate figures are not available.

Speed Cameras

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money was raised in fines from speed cameras in the last year for which records are available in (a) Billericay and District, (b) Basildon and District and (c) Essex.

David Jamieson: In 2001–02 £3,524,120 in conditional offer fixed penalties was collected by the Essex Safety Camera Partnership which includes Billericay and Basildon, for which separate figures are not available.

Speed Cameras

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras (a) there are and (b) there have been in each of the last five years in (i) Billericay and District, (ii) Basildon and District and (iii) Essex

David Jamieson: The Essex Safety Camera Partnership covers all of Essex and includes Billericay and Basildon. The number of fixed camera sites are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Fixed camera added Total sites 
		
		
			 Pre-1999 20 20 
			 1999 8 28 
			 2000 0 28 
			 2001 28 56 
			 2002 9 65 
			 2003 17 82 
		
	
	In addition, six mobile camera units work at approximately 300 locations in Essex.

School Transport

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on making the wearing of seat belts on school transport compulsory.

David Jamieson: None. The Department is however in the process of implementing EU Directive 2003/20/EU of 8 April 2003 on seat belt wearing. This requires the wearing of seat belts by passengers in buses and coaches where they are installed.

Train Punctuality

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the latest statistics on train punctuality.

Tony McNulty: Performance figures published by the Strategic Rail Authority on 11 December showed that year on year performance was up 0.5 per cent. to the end of September 2003. We are putting in funding to reverse the decades of under-investment and improve reliability. Early indications are that performance this autumn has been significantly better than in 2002.

A303

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the dualling of the A303.

David Jamieson: We are hoping to reach a decision on the route choice for the A303 improvement west of Ilminster in the spring after we have received the comments of the Regional Assembly on the Highways Agency's further work.

Airport Capacity (South-East)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent he proposes details of development at airports in the south-east of England under "The Future of Air Transport" White Paper should remain a matter of local determination through the planning system.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the Aviation White Paper which says that it is for owners and operators to bring forward airport development proposals which will need to be considered through the planning system in the normal way.

Cycling

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his Department's strategy for (a) increasing cycling journey numbers and (b) reducing cycling injuries and deaths.

Tony McNulty: We are improving cycling infrastructure and, having initiated the Cycling Projects Fund, we have given over £4 million for local cycling facilities and training. On the safety front, we are promoting training and measures which cyclists can take to protect themselves, such making themselves conspicuous. We are also improving training and testing for motorists.

Aviation Industry

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of varying levels of aviation capacity on the competitiveness of the UK's international trade.

Tony McNulty: Assessments of the impact of the growth in the aviation industry in increasing productivity growth across the economy were made by Oxford Economic Forecasting ("The Contribution of the Aviation Industry to the UK Economy", November 1999). However, the appraisal of airport development options made in the regional air transport consultation documents focus on the direct benefits to passengers of increased airport capacity. No estimates were made of wider economic benefits to the economy arising from factors such as improvements in the UK's competitiveness, but the potential effect of additional airport capacity on productivity across the economy can be gauged from the resulting increase in business passengers and air freight activity.

Aviation Industry

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the effects of the growth in aviation-related employment on other employment sectors.

Tony McNulty: Assessments of the contribution of aviation to employment growth in other sectors of the economy have been undertaken by Oxford Economic Forecasting ("The Contribution of the Aviation Industry to the UK Economy", November 1999) and by ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd. ("The Local and Regional Economic Impacts of the Expansion of Regional Air Services", January 2001). "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: North of England" consultation document included material from these studies on aviation-related employment.

Birmingham New Street Station

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Strategic Rail Authority regarding possible refurbishment of Birmingham New Street Station; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with Network Rail regarding possible closures of Birmingham New Street Station during peak times; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: I understand that in the short term, Network Rail is developing a plan to continue to manage passenger capacity efficiently while improving passenger circulation at Birmingham New Street. The Strategic Rail Authority and Network Rail are also working together and with local and regional stakeholders to continue the safe and efficient operation of the station, and to develop a series of station capacity and infrastructure enhancements to improve its environment. This will ensure that the predicted substantial growth in demand for rail services in the region in the medium to longer term can be addressed.

Bristol/Bath to South Coast Study

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in completing the Bristol/Bath to South Coast Study; and what estimate he has made of the likely completion date.

Tony McNulty: The study, which was commissioned to address the concerns of Bath and North East Somerset Council and the South West Regional Assembly over the proposed de-trunking of the A36/A46, has been further delayed because it has taken longer than anticipated for the consultants to complete the modelling and firm up their conclusions. It is now anticipated that the revised Final Reports will be cleared by the Steering Group by late January 2004. Once approved, they will be submitted to the South West Regional Assembly for comment and possibly additional brief consultation with their partners, in particular regarding the de-trunking issue which gave rise to the study being commissioned.
	Following receipt of the study report and comments from the Regional Assembly, I will be in a position to make a response.

Congestion Charging

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the use of satellite technology for congestion charging.

David Jamieson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport made a statement to the House on 9 July 2003, Official Report, columns 1175–95, announcing a feasibility study into the potential for road charging in the UK, which is expected to report this summer. The Terms of Reference were published on 9 July in "Managing our Roads", which is available on my Department's website.

Heathrow Airport

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department made of the need to widen major roads into and out of Heathrow, in the event of a third runway at Heathrow being built.

Tony McNulty: The South East and East of England Regional Air Services Study (SERAS) included an assessment of the road and rail infrastructure enhancements that would be needed to support a third runway at Heathrow. The results of this appraisal were summarised in Chapter 7 of "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom: South East" consultation document.
	The White Paper, "The Future of Air Transport", recognised that the further expansion of Heathrow will place pressure on already congested road and rail networks. It stated that the Government have no plans for further motorway widening in this area beyond that which we announced in our response to the Thames Valley and Orbit multi-modal studies in July 2003, and that the solution would need to be based on improvements to public transport.

North Downs Tunnel

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the thickness was of the invert of the North Downs Tunnel approved by the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996; and what change there has been in the specification.

Tony McNulty: The Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 contains no specifications of the tunnel lining thickness. The specifications relating to such details in the North Downs Tunnel were first drawn up later. The tunnel has a concrete lining with a relatively flat invert and reinforced concrete base slab, which supports the ballasted track. The concrete is about 1 metre thick in the invert and the average ballast thickness is 600 mm.

Railways (Disabled Access)

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from the Strategic Rail Authority concerning the ability of railway stations to conform to the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Tony McNulty: The SRA is considering how best to prioritise a programme of works to meet the accessibility requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act and will be consulting on draft criteria this year.

Railways (Disabled Access)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether the Strategic Rail Authority will be liable for prosecution if railways do not have disabled access by the required date in 2004.

Tony McNulty: With effect from 1 October 2004, providers of services will be under new duties to take reasonable steps to ensure that a disabled person can make use of a service, pursuant to section 21(2)(a)-(c) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
	Section 19(2)(b) of the Act defines a provider of services as being a person concerned with the provision in the United Kingdom of services to the public or a section of the public. Interpretation is a matter for the courts, but the Strategic Rail Authority's assessment is that the section 21 duties will apply to train operating companies that lease stations, and to Network Rail in respect of the stations it operates itself.
	The SRA is working with the rail industry and disabled people to ensure a more accessible transport network, with the greatest possible choice for disabled people within the available resources.

Road Crossings

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has recently issued to local authorities on the number of road crossings to help people who are (a) disabled and (b) partially sighted; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Local Transport Notes 1/95 and 2/95 cover the general assessment and design of road crossings, respectively. The latter includes guidance on installing audible and tactile signals to help disabled pedestrians at signalled crossings. In addition, we have issued specific guidance on meeting the needs of disabled people, including blind and partially sighted people, in "Guidance on the Use of Tactile Surfaces" (1999) and "Inclusive Mobility" (2002).

Traffic Calming

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many deaths he estimates have resulted from delay caused by speed humps and traffic calming preventing the emergency services reaching emergency incidents since 2000.

David Jamieson: The Department has received no evidence that speed humps cause additional deaths.

Transport Infrastructure (South Bedfordshire)

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of planned future house building on the transport infrastructure of South Bedfordshire.

Tony McNulty: The London to South Midlands Multi-Modal Study took account of the likely scale of growth that is now proposed in the Milton Keynes South Midlands draft strategy. Following the multi-modal study we were able to add three major schemes which serve South Bedfordshire to the Targeted Programme of Improvements.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Information andCommunication Service

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much has been allocated this financial year to the Government Information and Communication Service.

Douglas Alexander: Mr. Speaker, the budget for the Government Information and Communication Service Centre in the Cabinet Office for the current financial year is £2,458,395.
	Members of the GICS as a whole are employed and their work funded by individual Departments. The overall figures are not collected centrally.

Better Regulation

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many personnel are working on the better regulation brief in the department.

Douglas Alexander: The Regulatory Impact Unit leads on the better regulation agenda in my Department. The unit had 58 full-time equivalent staff as at December 2003.

Internet Use

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of internet users have transacted with a government department online in each year since 1997; and what steps are being taken to increase this proportion.

Douglas Alexander: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) measures the use of e-government services on a quarterly basis. Currently 8 per cent. of internet users claim to have transacted with government online, where transaction is defined as submitting a form, making a payment or booking an appointment. Many more visit web sites for information—50 per cent. of the internet population. These figures are based on a question recently added to the ONS Omnibus Survey and data exists for 2003 only.
	To improve the take-up of online services the Cabinet Office is working with departments to ensure that online services become more focussed around customer needs rather than following the structure of government. An enhanced customer offering for the delivery of electronic services will also be piloted which will present, service information in a consistent useable way clustered around topics and audience groups.

Correspondence

Harry Barnes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he will respond to the correspondence to his Department containing the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Trust's Legacy Project study.

Douglas Alexander: I have written to the organisation concerned today.
	I responded to the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Trust on 30 December 2003.

Public Appointments

Ian Stewart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Government take to ensure that people appointed to public bodies are representative of the society that they serve.

Douglas Alexander: This Government want boards of public bodies to be representative of society as a whole. On 17 December, we published Delivering Diversity in Public Appointments 2003. This outlines the Government's commitment to achieving greater diversity in public appointments. It includes action plans for individual Departments, together with targets to be achieved by 2006.

Public Appointments

Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list vacancies for posts on public bodies which have been advertised since 2001, indicating in such case the number of (a) posts, (b) applicants, (c) persons interviewed and (d) appointments made.

Douglas Alexander: This information is not held centrally. Individual departments are responsible for making appointments to their own public bodies.
	The Government is committed to ensuring greater access to public appointments. A new public appointments vacancy web-site (www.publicappts-vacs.gov.uk) was launched by my Department on 27 March 2003. This provides information about current and forthcoming vacancies, helping people to find details of the appointments that are of most interest to them.

Public Bodies

Andrew George: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list all regional (a) advisory non-departmental public bodies, (b) executive non-departmental public bodies and (c) other autonomous public bodies, identifying those which are related to health, broken down by region; if he will indicate those which have been created since 1 May 1997; and if he will list those bodies which have been (i) abolished since 1 May 1997 and (ii) abolished but whose functions have been transferred to other public bodies.

Douglas Alexander: Information about non-departmental public bodies is contained in "Public Bodies 2003", and previous years' editions, copies of which are available in the House Libraries, and on the Cabinet Office website at http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/agencies-publicbodies/publicbodies/index.shtm
	The information is not broken down to regional level, nor are creation or abolition dates of bodies separately identified. This level of detail could be provided only at disproportionate expense. Public bodies related to health are primarily listed in the entry for the Department of Health, though some public bodies attached to other Departments (e.g. the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) also deal with health-related issues.

TREASURY

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 11 November from the hon. Member for Walsall, North concerning the statement by members of the Royal Commission on Long Term Care.

Paul Boateng: I have done so.

Departmental Policies(Regent's Park and Kensington, North)

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the impact of his policies on the constituency of Regent's Park and Kensington, North since 1997.

Paul Boateng: Over the past five years, the Government have built a platform of economic stability and sound management of public finances, delivering benefits across the UK, including in London and the constituency of Regent's Park and Kensington North.
	The UK is now enjoying the longest period of sustained low inflation since the 1960s, with long-term interest rates around their lowest levels since that time. Since spring 1997, employment has increased by almost 1.7 million, and public investment increases, including the biggest ever sustained growth in the history of the NHS, are tackling the legacy of under-investment in public services.

Employment Incentives

David Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an assessment of (a) provision for young, single, working adults on low incomes and (b) incentives for those aged under 25 to move off benefits into employment.

Dawn Primarolo: To help young people move off benefits and into employment, the Government have introduced the New Deal for Young People, increased financial incentives to work through the National Minimum Wage and the reduction in the starting rate of income tax from 20 per cent. to 10 per cent. and improved opportunities to participate in training and education, for example through the Modern Apprenticeships scheme.

Forward Contracts

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many forward contracts have been granted to individuals and corporations (a) domiciled and (b) non-domiciled in the UK.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue have identified 17 cases where forward contracts have been granted. In two instances the agreements related to individuals or companies domiciled in the UK; the other 15 cases related to individuals or companies non-domiciled in the UK.
	The Inland Revenue no longer make these agreements.

Growth

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the increase in forecast growth he estimates results from increases in public spending for each of the next three years.

Paul Boateng: Table A4, on page 182 of pre-Budget report 2003 (Cm 6042), presents information on the contributions to forecast GDP growth from expenditure components, including government spending, between 2003 and 2006.

IR35

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional revenue has been secured from investigations under the IR35 regulation (a) in total and (b) for each year since its implementation.

Dawn Primarolo: Establishing whether or not the intermediaries legislation applies is undertaken as part of the Inland Revenue's Employer Compliance Review programme. As such it is not possible with any accuracy to isolate data relating solely to this legislation.

IR35

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the (a) administration and (b) employment costs arising from pursuing investigations under IR35 regulation.

Dawn Primarolo: There is no data held on administration and employment costs relating solely to this legislation.

IR35

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many investigations under the IR35 regulation have (a) been initiated, (b) resulted in additional revenue and (c) been concluded without securing additional revenue.

Dawn Primarolo: Establishing whether or not the intermediaries legislation applies is undertaken as part of the Inland Revenue's Employer Compliance Review programme. As such it is not possible with any accuracy to isolate data relating solely to this legislation.

Spirits Seizures

Alan Reid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bottles of (a) whisky and (b) other spirits were seized by Customs and Excise in the last 12 months because duty had not been paid.

John Healey: The information is not available in the format requested. HM Customs and Excise central records collate the volume of spirit seized but do not distinguish the specific type of spirit.
	Details of the volume of spirits seized for this period will be included in HM Customs and Excise Annual Report and Accounts for 2003–04.
	Details of spirits seizures in the period 2001–02 are given in Appendix C of the HM Customs and Excise Annual Report 2002–03 (HC 52).

Spirits Seizures

Alan Reid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful prosecutions there have been for evading duty on (a) whisky and (b) other spirits in the last 12 months.

John Healey: The information is not available in the format requested. HM Customs and Excise central records collate the number of successful and unsuccessful prosecutions which involve spirits duty fraud but do not distinguish the specific type of spirit for which a prosecution is brought.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Tetra Communications System

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received regarding the effect of the Tetra communications system on terrestrial television reception; from which areas representations have been received; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 18 December 2003
	Ofcom is aware of instances of interference to domestic installations from Airwave radio base stations. Airwave is the new police/public safety radio communications system currently being rolled out across the country. In all the instances so far investigated the consumers own masthead aerial amplifier, used to boost weak signals has had a pass-band wide enough to boost the television signal and, inadvertently, the unwanted radiocommunications signal.
	Testing has shown that the Tetra transmitters were operating correctly and within their designated licence parameters. In most cases a suitable filter fitted between the masthead amplifier and the TV aerial will resolve the interference and affected residents have been advised to have such filters fitted to their TV installations. As a goodwill gesture Airwave has arranged for filters to be fitted to the affected television installations in certain circumstances. The problem however is with the TV aerial amplifiers or the aerial system. Consumers should take problems up with their suppliers.

BNFL

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what the total costs of BNFL's business operations in the United States were in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the total revenue generated by BNFL as a result of business activities in the United States was in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many business contracts BNFL has agreed in the United States in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: BNFL operates in several sectors in the US, principally environmental clean-up through its subsidiary BNFL Inc and fuel manufacture and reactor services through its subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Company. In BNFL's annual report and accounts, Note 2 identifies the sales and profit for the group arising from America (North and South combined). In 2002–03 the total sales arising from America were £747 million, and the profit before tax and exceptional items was £59 million.
	Following is a table that shows BNFL's sales and profit figures going back five years (for North and South America combined):
	
		£ million
		
			  Sales Profit 
		
		
			 2002–03 747 59 
			 2001–02 830 (11) 
			 2000–01 945 (27) 
			 1999–2000 73 (7) 
			 1998–99 74 n/a 
		
	
	Note:
	Drawn from Annual Report & Accounts.

Business Premises

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many statutory inspections of business premises took place in each of the last five years.

Nigel Griffiths: There is no central database for inspections.

Business Premises

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many statutory inspections carrying a right to entry onto business premises were carried out in each year since 1997.

Nigel Griffiths: There is no central database for inspections.

Carbon Reduction Targets

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the carbon reduction targets outlined in the Energy White Paper, what Government support is being given to research and development into (a) low carbon technologies and (b) lightweight vehicle design initiatives; and how much of that Government support has gone to companies conducting such research in (i) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East and (ii) the north east.

Stephen Timms: Pursuant to the carbon reduction targets in the Energy White Paper, the Government is supporting research into low carbon and carbon-free energy generation through my Department's Renewable Energy Programme and through the Research Councils. There are no projects currently being supported under the Renewable Energy Programme in the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland East, area. There are, however 14 projects and I recently completed project that are receiving or have received funding in the north east region as a whole. This amounts to total funding of over £6.5 million and has been provided for projects including Solar PV Field Trials and the Stingray Tidal Stream Energy Device.
	A New and Renewable Energy Centre (NAREC) has been set up by One North East in Blyth, Northumberland, to promote renewable energy in the north east. This is one of five centres of excellence designed to encourage the development of new technologies originating from the region's research base.
	The Government are also pursuing its carbon reduction targets through research into energy efficiency, and has accepted the recommendation of the Chief Scientific Adviser in his Energy Research Report that this should be a priority area for investment. An inter-departmental group, on which the Energy Saving Trust and the Carbon Trust are represented, is co-ordinating work in this field.
	In 2002, the Carbon Trust established the Low Carbon Innovation Programme to accelerate the development of new and emerging low carbon and energy efficient technologies in the UK, by investing in research, demonstration and development projects and leveraging in further funding.
	As stated in the Government's Powering Future Vehicles Strategy, the Government supports research and development for the encouragement of low carbon vehicles through a number of initiatives including the New Vehicle Technology Fund (NVTF) and Foresight Vehicle programmes. At present, of the 20 projects that are being supported through NVTF, none is based in the north east, although the programme is open to all regions.
	The Foresight Vehicle LINK programme supports technology transfer through collaborative R&D, aiming to raise the innovation performance of the automotive industry in the UK. The programme includes a wide portfolio of projects, valued in excess of £100 million. We do not keep separate records for each thematic group under the programme, but included in this funding is light-weighting and engine control which help reduce CO2 emissions and alternative propulsion systems. DTI has committed £12.4 million to this programme.

Departmental Grants

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been allocated to fund the Grant for Investigating an Innovative Idea pilot scheme.

Nigel Griffiths: £2 million has been allocated for financial year 2003–04. £l million has been allocated for financial year 2004–05 with a further £2 million being sought to supplement this.

E-mail

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to increase international collaboration in dealing with spam.

Stephen Timms: Spam is widely recognised to be a global problem and the UK is active in discussions on international cooperation to tackle cross-border spam, both multilaterally (for example, at the World Summit on the Information Society and in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and bilaterally with the USA and other national governments. Proposals now being explored include cooperation between national enforcement agencies and the development of common international guidelines for governments and for business.

E-mail

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the proportion of (a) e-mails and (b) unwanted junk e-mails received in the UK that are sent from within the UK.

Stephen Timms: The Government do not have an estimate of the total proportion of e-mails received here that are sent from within and outside the UK. Industry estimates suggest that between 80 and 90 per cent. of unwanted junk e-mails received here come from outside the UK.

Fuel Cells UK

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the role of, and funding given to, Fuel Cells UK.

Stephen Timms: The role of Fuel Cells UK is to act as an umbrella body for the emerging UK fuel cells industry. My Department is providing pump-priming funding for a two year period for Fuel Cells UK to undertake a series of activities which will help to develop the UK fuel cell industry and to establish Fuel Cells UK as a potential trade association. Fuel Cells UK was launched on 7 May 2003 and key activities to date have included the development of a UK Fuel Cell Vision, the preparation of an industry capability guide, and representation on standards work through the BSI. Proposed future activities include the preparation of an academic research capability guide, and the development of a UK Fuel Cells Roadmap.
	Funding to date by DTI since the start of this project has totalled £68,585.

Gas Prices

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with Ofgem concerning the decision by the Financial Services Authority to join in its inquiry into wholesale gas prices; if she will publish the minutes of the meetings; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with the Financial Services Authority concerning its decision to join Ofgem in its inquiry into wholesale gas prices; if she will publish the minutes of any such meetings; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: None. This was a matter for Ofgem and the Financial Services Authority.

Regulation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many regulations her Department has (a) removed and (b) reformed in each of the last five years.

Nigel Griffiths: Figures can only be obtained by a manual sift of all regulations and Statutory Instruments in force from 1997 onwards.

Renewables Obligation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money was paid into the buy-out fund by electricity suppliers as a result of failing to present renewables obligation certificates to Ofgem, in each year since the scheme began.

Stephen Timms: The Renewables Obligation has only been operating since 1 April 2002 and therefore data is only available for the first period of the obligation, i.e. financial year 2002–03. For this period, payments into the buy-out by electricity suppliers totalled £78,853,260 for England and Wales, and £11,210,730 for Scotland.

Small Businesses

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many inspectors are employed by Government Departments and agencies to carry out statutory inspections of small business premises.

Nigel Griffiths: There is no central database containing this information.

Small Businesses

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the costs to small businesses resulting from the recent strike by postal workers.

Stephen Timms: I have made no such estimate. Strike action, whether official or unofficial, is damaging and inconvenient to businesses that rely on Royal Mail's services. Royal Mail had in place contingency arrangements that attempted to minimise the impact on businesses of all sizes.

Transport, Telecommunications andEnergy Council

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the outcome was of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council held on 15 December; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Anne Lambert, Deputy Permanent Representative to the European Union, represented the UK at the EU Energy Council in Brussels on 15 December.
	The Council considered several matters of interest to the United Kingdom. Chief among these were the directive on gas security of supply and a proposed directive on energy efficiency standards for energy using products.
	The Presidency introduced a short debate on a proposal on eco-design requirements for energy using products, which will set common EU energy efficiency standards for Energy Using Products (EuP), and is intended to make environmental improvements in areas that market forces cannot not handle. Describing it as a framework directive with a flexible approach, which took account of the characteristics of each sector, the Commission said that it wished to use the proposal to encourage industry to agree sectoral voluntary agreements. The Commission commended an integrated rather than thematic or sectoral approach, but rejected the idea of a priority product list as likely to trigger lengthy debates with industry on what should be included or excluded.
	Member states broadly welcomed the proposal and its general approach of setting selection criteria but leaving the detailed product selection to a Regulatory Committee, but many saw more clarification on the detail as needed. Most supported an integrated approach and rejected the notion of a priority product list, though some MS asked the Commission to list the kind of products expected to be covered by the instrument. The UK suggested that the Commission develop a consultation strategy to identify the product categories. Others urged that the directive sets out clearly the criteria to be applied to product selection and emphasised the need to assess the impact on competitiveness, in particular the potential adverse impact on SMEs.
	Following withdrawal of reserves by the UK and others, a general approach was agreed on the Presidency text for the proposed gas security of supply directive which sets minimum European security of supply standards and requires member states to define and publish non-discriminatory and transparent national security of supply policies compatible with the internal market. It establishes a Gas Coordination Group, outlines an approach to dealing with a major supply disruption at Community level, puts in place reporting and monitoring requirements, and provides for Commission intervention in the case of a perceived insufficiency of supplies to meet long-term gas demand. The Commission's agreement to the text, including a legal base of Article 100 EC was subject to a new Recital stating that security of supply obligations should not impede the functioning of the internal market nor impose unreasonable and disproportionate burdens.
	The Commission presented a package of proposals on energy security: a Regulation on access to gas network in the internal market which mirrors a similar electricity Regulation adopted earlier this year as part of the internal market package; a directive on security of electricity supply and infrastructure investment, mirroring the gas measures agreed earlier; and a directive on energy end-use efficiency and energy services, which sets an energy efficiency savings target.
	In lunchtime discussion on security of supply, the Commission argued that the need for action was underlined by forecasts showing the EU's need for 700 MW of extra weekly capacity by 2012 and given the 6–7 year time lag needed for building new capacity. The UK and most other member states argued against market intervention, stating that Governments and regulators were not responsible for investment in capacity or networks, and that the key need was for a stable investment framework. Drawing attention to our domestic evidence of the market working and sending investment signals, the UK emphasised that the Directive should not interfere with effective liberalisation and that we would not support any measures to control prices. Some member states supported the Commission's ideas, arguing the need for reinforced co-operation between transmission operators and regulators and for further reflection on the cause of recent price increases, which some consumers blamed on liberalisation, and for new impetus on interconnection.
	In a short exchange on cost of compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, the Commission argued that the EU needs to embrace technology to combat climate change and for all options to be explored including nuclear. The Commission also said there was a need for the EU and its MS to re-assess the EU position in the light of Russia's failure to ratify the Kyoto Treaty.
	Council Conclusions on Energy in a Wider Europe were adopted.
	The Presidency, with Greece and the Commission, reported on the Euro-Med Ministerial conference in Rome on 1–2 December. With 38 participating countries, involving industry participation from the oil, gas and electricity sectors and with the objective of implementing the conclusions of the Athens ministerial in May 2003, the event had been a success.
	The Commission briefed on the Energy Charter Treaty, the EU/Russia dialogue and relations with South East Europe. On the Energy Charter, given that Russia had not yet ratified and was still creating difficulties over the transit protocol, the Commission said that the EU and others needed to consider how to take things forward. In contrast, the Commission argued, progress had been made in the EU/Russia dialogue, e.g. investment increases in Russia by EU companies, and resolution of the problem of destination clauses (which prevent on-selling of Russian gas by the initial importing MS). The Commission defended itself against accusations of lack of transparency in the EU/Russia energy dialogue.
	In a presentation on the International Partnership for Hydrogen, the Commission saw hydrogen as important as an environmentally friendly energy source and with transport potential, and urged international cooperation as essential in order to achieve the technological breakthrough needed to take forward its development.
	Reporting on the joint informal Environment and Energy Council held at Montecatini in July 2003, the Presidency pointed to its success as a forum for bringing together environmental, energy, economic, market and other related topics as having been confirmed by the recent COP9 conclusions. Finally, Greece gave a report on the Ministerial Conference on the South-East European energy market in Athens on 8 December. An MoU had been agreed covering gas and electricity, to which the EU was a signatory.

Veterinary Medicines

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with representatives from the European Commission on removing companion animals from the Veterinary Prescribing Cascade.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	Proposals to change the prescribing cascade have been discussed during the current review of European medicines legislation but none of these included removing companion animals from the prescribing cascade. The Common Position of the Council of Ministers at the end of the first reading adopted a proposal to separate the provisions of the cascade for food producing animals from those for companion animals so that a less restrictive regime would apply to medicines for companion animals as there are no consumer health considerations. The UK supported these amendments.
	The European Parliament adopted a compromise text for amendments in the second reading stage on 17 December 2003. This is expected to be considered for adoption by the Council of Ministers in January 2004. The compromise text did not make any changes to the Common Position in respect of the prescribing cascade.

Veterinary Medicines

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of prescriptions for treating animals issued by veterinary surgeons were for generic drugs in each of the last five years for which records exist.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government does not collect information on prescriptions issued by veterinary surgeons.

Veterinary Medicines

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate on the proposed review of the prescribing categories of veterinary drugs, including prescription only medicines.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The Veterinary Medicines Directorate is a Defra Agency and so reports to me. The legal classification of a veterinary medicinal product is based on the perceived risks of the product when it is authorised. Products which have a greater risk, require prior diagnosis or are difficult to administer are made prescription only medicines. The Government have accepted that the legal classification of products should be reviewed automatically as proposed by the Competition Commission. Such reviews will allow reports on the use of products to be taken into account when considering whether the legal classification should be changed.
	This review is one of a number of changes proposed by the Report of the Independent Review of Dispensing by Veterinary Surgeons of Prescription only Medicines (the Marsh Report) in 2001, the 2003 Report from the Competition Commission into the cost of prescription only medicines, and the Review of European medicines legislation. When the European review has concluded, the VMD will consult interested parties on implementing all of the agreed changes.

Veterinary Medicines

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the recommendations of the Competition Commission on prescription only medicines with reference to the European review of the prescribing of veterinary medicines.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government's formal response to the Competition Commission's report on prescription only medicines was published on 9 July 2003. There were two recommendations relating to the European Review of veterinary medicines legislation.
	For Recommendation 8, the Government agreed to keep in mind the importance of retaining the existing rights of member states to control their channels of distribution and supply of veterinary medicines during the negotiations on Review 2001 and has firmly followed that principle throughout.
	The Government said that Recommendation 9 on establishing new distribution categories for veterinary medicinal products would be considered in the light of the outcome of the European Review of medicines legislation.

Wind Turbines

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact on wildlife of wind turbines.

Stephen Timms: Studies of the impact of wind farms on wildlife, in particular birds, suggests that there is only a small risk of bird strikes from the operation of wind turbines which have been properly sited.
	Under the normal planning regime and for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 or the Transport and Works Act 1992 wind farm developers are required to consider all environmental aspects of wind energy projects and produce an Environmental Impact Assessment. These assessments are available to the public.

DEFENCE

Attitude Surveys

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of respondents to the last assessed Royal Navy/Royal Marine Continuous Attitude Survey responded (a) yes and (b) no to (i) question 26 and (ii) question 27; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The information requested is drawn from the May 2003 edition of the Continuous Attitude Survey.
	I should point out that questions 26 and 27 in the September 2002 survey relating to the reporting of incidents of unwelcome behaviour and satisfaction with the reporting process, have been replaced by questions 30 and 31 in the current survey.
	Royal Navy
	Q30. Do you know where to get information about the RN/RM complaints procedure for unfair treatment, discrimination, harassment or bullying?
	
		
			  Royal Navy Royal Marines 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Yes 691 74.70 43 52.40 
			 No 98 10.60 23 28.00 
			 Unsure 127 13.70 15 18.30 
			 Total 916 99 81 99 
		
	
	Q31. Satisfied/Dissatisfied with complaints procedure.
	
		Percentage
		
			  Objectivity and fairness with which your complaint was handled Time taken to resolve your complaint 
		
		
			 Royal Navy   
			 Very satisfied 0.90 0.50 
			 Satisfied 1.40 1.30 
			 Neither 4.90 5 
			 Dissatisfied 1.50 1.90 
			 Very dissatisfied 2.60 2.30 
			 N/A 88.70 89 
			
			 Royal Marines   
			 Very satisfied 0.00 0.00 
			 Satisfied 1.20 1.20 
			 Neither 1.20 3.70 
			 Dissatisfied 1.20 1.20 
			 Very dissatisfied 2.40 0.00 
			 N/A 93.90 93.90

Attitude Surveys

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of respondents to the last assessed Royal Navy/Royal Marine Continuous Attitude Survey mentioned (a) privatisation and contractualisation and (b) privatisation in their answers to Question 32; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: Question 32 in the September 2002 Continuous Attitude Survey is asked at Question 35 in the May 2003 survey, the last assessed survey.
	There were no responses to this question.

Civil Servants (Disabilities)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many senior civil servants in his Department are disabled, expressed in (a) numbers and (b) as a percentage of whole-time equivalents.

Ivor Caplin: As there are less than five members of the senior civil service in the Department with a disability, the actual number is not published in order to protect the privacy of the individual in line with Exemption 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Identity Cards

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications of the introduction of compulsory identity cards for his Department.

Ivor Caplin: The Home Office has lead responsibility for developing the national identity cards scheme. The introduction of the scheme is a long-term undertaking and there are ongoing discussions which the Ministry of Defence will contribute to.
	Our assessment has indicated that the proposals for the introduction of compulsory identity cards would benefit the Ministry of Defence by aiding the identification of individuals who have a relationship with the Department, but who are not direct employees. Examples include potential new recruits, past employees, members of the Reserve Forces, job applicants, visitors and contractors.
	We have also considered the needs of foreign nationals serving in the armed forces. Their current military ID is not universally accepted outside of the Department, so there would be benefit in providing them with a United Kingdom ID card under the foreign residents scheme, recognising their status as members of the UK Armed Forces.
	We are not intending to replace the military ID card (or its equivalent for civilian employees) with the national ID card since our own ID card is used as a means for controlling access to MOD premises.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps need to be taken to enable the number of civilian casualties killed by British forces in Iraq since the end of the conflict to be ascertained.

Adam Ingram: All casualties witnessed by UK forces are reported, but it is not always possible to determine accurately the number of casualties that occur during a particular incident. For example, in some incidents, Iraqi injured and/or dead may have been taken away by their compatriots before UK Forces could investigate. In other incidents, UK forces have been forced to withdraw from situations before an accurate assessment of the number of casualties could be made. In such incidents we have no reliable means of ascertaining the number of casualties and there are no practical steps we could take to do so.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has examined on the alleged shooting of a demonstrator by British forces in Basra on (a) 4 October and (b) 9 August.

Adam Ingram: I am aware of allegations of an incident during a demonstration on 9 August but no civilian casualties were reported.
	On 4 October, on the periphery of a demonstration, British soldiers killed an Iraqi gunman in self-defence. His automatic weapon and ammunition were recovered.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has examined on the alleged deaths of Iraqi civilians in British custody on (a) 13 and (b) 18 May.

Adam Ingram: There are investigations underway of alleged deaths of Iraqis while in custody but I am not aware of any involving deaths which occurred on 13 or 18 May 2003.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidelines have been issued to UK military personnel in relation to the use of force in non-combat situations in Southern Iraq.

Adam Ingram: The Rules Of Engagement issued to UK forces in Iraq govern all use of force. Rules of Engagement are confidential and withheld in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Iraq

Helen Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the likely future levels of the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Air Force presence in the Iraq theatre.

Adam Ingram: We keep force levels under constant review but there are no current plans to alter the major Royal Navy or RAF assets deployed to Operation Telic. I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 5 January 2004, Official Report, column 30W.

Territorial Army

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what funding is provided to Territorial Army personnel returning from service in the Gulf.

Ivor Caplin: Territorial Army personnel returning from the Gulf continue to receive their pay and allowances which apply until no longer required in whole-time Army service, or until the expiration of any paid leave granted (which immediately follows whole-time Army service). On demobilisation, a travel warrant is provided for the journey home. TA personnel may be entitled to receive certain pension payments under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme or as defined within the Army Pensions Warrant 1997.

Territorial Army

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training days Territorial Army personnel underwent in advance of deployment to the Gulf.

Ivor Caplin: Territorial Army (TA) personnel deployed to the Gulf have been designated 'Fit For Role', which requires a minimum of 27 days training in the preceding 12 months. In addition, before deployment, they will have attended the Reserves Training and Mobilisation Centre for a five day period of intensive revision of their Individual Training Directives (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical, First Aid, Shooting, Fitness and Recognition) and also received series of theatre specific briefings at the Reinforcement Holding Unit. Thereafter, TA personnel posted to regular units would train with them.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

HIV/AIDS

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received on the risk of dependency resulting from recent increases in funding to developing countries to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: I have received no representations on this matter. However, all DFID programmes, including those aimed at helping to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS, seek to achieve long term sustainability rather than build dependency. The UK's Call for Action on HIV/AIDS, launched on 1 December last year, has at its core an objective for each country to have one national HIV/AIDS Strategy, one national AIDS Commission and one way to monitor and report progress —rather than having parallel, and less sustainable, systems and structures driven by the needs of donors.

HIV/AIDS

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to ensure that HIV/AIDS policies take into account the particular needs of orphans and vulnerable children.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government are committed to intensifying the response to HIV/AIDS, including responding to the growing number of orphans and children made vulnerable by AIDS (OVCs).
	DFID is supporting the efforts of UNICEF and UNAIDS to produce a strategic framework on OVCs. Key elements of this framework include:
	Treatment programmes to prolong the lives of parents ;
	Free access to education;
	Enhanced support to the families and communities caring for OVCs.
	Meeting the needs of orphans is a complex issue requiring a comprehensive response. DFID is gaining experience in the most effective ways of developing integrated, cross-sectoral programmes of support for orphans and their carers. For example, in Malawi social protection measures for families affected by HIV/AIDS are integrated into Malawi's Poverty Reduction Strategy. These measures include targeted nutrition and welfare transfers, legislation on inheritance and the introduction of less intensive crops to affected households.
	In addition, in several countries in Southern Africa where there has been drought DFID is supporting a school-feeding programme (implemented by the World Food Programme). The programme is deliberately designed to keep children, including OVCs, at school and learning for the future. In South Africa DFID works closely with the Department of Social Development to ensure that children (and parents) can access the grants they are entitled to. We are also starting work with the Church of the Province of Southern Africa to reduce stigma, improve home-based care and care for OVCs. In Zimbabwe, DFID is providing support for OVCs and child-headed households through its NGO feeding programme.
	Meeting the needs of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS is a challenge that DFID is determined to address effectively.

Indigenous People's Demonstration Project

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 15 December, Official Report, column 719W, when he expects to make a decision on whether the Indigenous People's Demonstration Project will be affected by the reallocation of money for middle income countries.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID will continue to support the Indigenous Peoples' Demonstration Project in Brazil until at least early 2006. Expenditure over the next two years will, however, have to be reduced in view of the reduction in funds available for the region. This is consistent with the approach being taken with all other DFID projects in Latin American Middle Income Countries scheduled to continue into 2005/06 and beyond, which are either being ended prematurely or reduced in scale. A decision on whether to extend into 2006/07 will be taken in the second half of 2005 in the light of the project's progress and DFID's regional priorities. We expect that the project will have had a significant impact by early 2006 with over half of the originally envisaged training and institutional strengthening support provided by that date.

Iraq

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are in place to ensure that reconstruction funds in Iraq are administered in a way that secures value for money.

Hilary Benn: Regular DFID procedures to ensure value for money are being applied in the management of our assistance to Iraq.

Iraq

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much of the allocated reconstruction budget for Iraq has been spent on contracted expatriate employees; and what estimate has been made of future expenditure in this regard.

Hilary Benn: To date, DFID has disbursed approximately £8.5 million on the provision of international staff on projects which we are undertaking, directly and through commercial companies, in Iraq. We estimate that the total expenditure on international staff working on already-approved projects will amount to approximately £26.4 million. Further projects may be approved in the future.
	These figures include the costs of travel, subsistence, training, communications, insurance and additional security measures, as well as salaries.
	The figures do not include the costs of international staff employed by United Nations bodies, nor of NGOs working on activities funded by DFID.

Iraq

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his statement of 15 December, Official Report, column 1319, if he will place in the Library details of the reconstruction projects that have been launched in Iraq; and if he will make a statement on the (a) purpose and (b) costs of each project funded by the UK.

Hilary Benn: An updated list of DFID humanitarian and reconstruction funding in Iraq, giving the purpose and cost of each allocation, will be placed in the Library of the House this week. Regular updates on DFID's programme in Iraq can be found at: http://www. dfid.gov.uk.

Meat (Illegal Imports)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with overseas home affairs ministers about the illegal importation of meat products into the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	We have made general approaches through our diplomatic posts overseas to the governments of other countries, to promote awareness of our import rules on meat and animal products. Defra Ministers have also raised these matters in bilateral contacts with visiting ministers from overseas governments.
	Since 11 April 2003, when Her Majesty's Customs and Excise took over responsibility for illegal imports publicity overseas, they have made contact with a number of embassies and high commissions. So far Nigeria, Ghana, India, USA, Thailand and Kenya have agreed to assist us with these issues in their countries.
	We will all continue to work with our posts and embassies abroad to raise awareness of our import rules abroad.

Overseas Assistance

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department has provided to (a) Bermuda, (b) British Virgin Islands and (c) Cayman Islands in the past year; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: We do not now provide direct development assistance to any of them. In the financial year 2002–03, however, we spent nearly £90,000 in the closing stages of British Virgin islands' graduation from receipt of direct DFID support. This was mainly provision of advice on airport development and scholarships for overseas study. Both British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands benefit indirectly from our regional support for Caribbean overseas territories, in areas such as environmental protection and disaster planning.

Uzbekistan

Alice Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid the UK has provided to Uzbekistan since 2001; and for what purposes.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The figures for UK bilateral assistance to Uzbekistan are: 2000–01—£484,000; 2001–02—£397,000; 2002–03—£491,000. Our bilateral support has focused on the development of primary health care: training doctors in general practice; and strengthening civil society and community based organisations.
	Additionally, the UK's attributed share of multilateral assistance to Uzbekistan in calendar year 2001 (the most recent year for which figures are available) was £1.6 million broken down by EC £0.9 million, UN £0.3 million and £0.4 million other.

SCOTLAND

Barnett Formula

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the operation of the Barnett Formula has, since its introduction, (a) narrowed, (b) widened and (c) maintained relative per capita spending between Scotland and England; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 17 December 2003
	Information on identifiable spending on services by country is published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (the latest version is Cm 5901). Identifiable spending covers both devolved and reserved spending. Analysis of trends in Scottish spending is also contained in the Scottish Executive's annual publication Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland.

Block Grant

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes have been made to the coverage of the block grant arrangements since 1979.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 11 December 2003
	The arrangements for funding the Scottish Parliament are set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, which was first published by the Treasury in 1999. Revised Statements were published in 2000 and 2002. Information on the operation of the Barnett formula prior to 1999 is contained in the second report of the Treasury Committee for 1997–98, on the Barnett formula.

Consolidated Fund

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what sums of money were (a) added to and (b) subtracted from the Scottish Consolidated Fund in each year since 1999.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 17 December 2003
	The operation of the Scottish Consolidated Fund is a matter for the Scottish Executive. Details of grant paid to the Scottish Executive are published in main and supplementary Scotland Office estimates, and in Scotland Office Department Reports.

Income Tax

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the costs that would fall on (a) the Government and (b) business if the Scottish Parliament voted to use its powers to vary the basic rate of income tax as specified in Section 72 of the Scotland Act 1998.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 17 December 2003
	The use of the tax varying powers, and related costs, are matters for the Scottish Executive. Scottish Executive Ministers have made it clear that they do not intend to use the tax varying powers during the course of this Scottish Parliament.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Brussels Summit

William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement as to whether the 82 points referred to by Mr. Berlusconi as having been agreed to at the Brussels Summit were agreed; and whether they will be reopened.

Denis MacShane: holding answer 5 January 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) today (UIN145406).

Civil Servants (Disabilities)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in his Department.

Mike O'Brien: At September 2003, eight FCO staff in the senior management structure declared themselves to have a disability. This represents 1.7 per cent. of all staff at this level. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is on target to meet the 3 per cent. target agreed with the Cabinet Office for 2005. Staff advisory and support groups have been established and a diversity manager is in place to develop and implement policy.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter to him dated 10 November 2003 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to M. Sam.

Chris Mullin: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer 1 gave him on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 1107W.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the safety of asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of Congo who are returned to their homeland after being refused asylum in the UK.

Beverley Hughes: The most recent information on the treatment of returned failed asylum seekers, as well as on other issues that most commonly arise in connection with asylum applications made by asylum seekers from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is contained in the Home Office Country Report on DRC that was published at the end of October. A copy of the Report can be found on the Home Office internet site at: http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/default.asp?Pageld=172
	There is no objective evidence to support allegations of either systematic or arbitrary detention or ill treatment of returnees. The British ambassador in Kinshasa has seen no evidence that local human rights organisations have concerns about the safety of returns. Other EU countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands have also found no evidence that returnees face any ill treatment. The situation in DRC—including the treatment of returnees—is kept under review in consultation with the UNHCR and other EU countries. UNHCR's position is that they do not object in principle to enforced removals to Kinshasa of failed asylum seekers who have been found, following a full and fair asylum determination process, not to be in need of international protection.
	If an asylum application is refused, the applicant has a right of appeal to the independent appellate authorities against that decision. If following any appeal the applicant has still not established a need for international protection, then we consider it reasonable to expect an individual in that position to leave voluntarily. If they do not, we believe it entirely proper for us to take the appropriate enforcement action.

Departmental Staff

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of staff employed within his Department are over 55 years of age; and what (a) number and (b) percentage of staff recruited over the last 12 months are over 55 years of age.

Mike O'Brien: At 1 June 2003. 9.76 per cent. of all FCO UK-based staff were over 55 years of age: 16 (2.8 per cent.) UK-based staff with a length of service of less than one year were over 55 years of age.

Draft EU Constitution

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of the breakdown of negotiations for the European Constitution; when the next EU summit is scheduled to take place; and what items will be on the agenda.

Denis MacShane: The Intergovernmental Conference was close to consensus on the majority of issues relating to the draft Constitutional Treaty for the EU, although final agreement was not reached. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said to the House on 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 1321 "In time an agreement will be necessary to allow enlargement to work effectively". Until then, the business of the European Union will continue as normal under the existing Treaties. The Irish Presidency has undertaken to report on the way forward to the European Council at its meeting scheduled for 25–26 March 2004. The full agenda for that meeting has not yet been finalised.

European Council

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the oral statement of the Prime Minister of 15 December 2003, Official Report, columns 1319–36, on the European Council, if he will list the points in the proposed European Constitution where consensus was close at the Brussels meeting of the European Council on 12 and 13 December; and if he will list the remaining points of disagreement.

Jack Straw: Proposals published by the Italian Presidency on 9 December 2003 (and placed in the Library of the House) covered a wide range of separate issues of concern to one or more EU member states. In respect of most, though not all of these, the outcome was satisfactory for the United Kingdom, including on energy, and the "passerelle" clause and modalities for future revisions of Title III of Part III of the Treaty.
	In his summing up at the 1GC on Saturday 13 December 2003. Mr. Berlusconi did not list each of the individual points on which there was near consensus, but did say that they included unanimity for taxation, criminal justice, own resources decisions and social security.
	He did not, however, suggest that this was an exclusive list, and we had already made clear that there were some other outstanding issues on which we would require satisfaction before we could agree any draft Treaty on behalf of Her Majesty's Government. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister also made clear at the IGC, as he did in his Statement on 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 132, that nothing was agreed until everything was agreed.

Overseas Posts (Performance Targets)

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what targets have been set for (a) processing entry clearance applications at British posts overseas for (i) permanent settlement and (ii) temporary purposes, (b) the dispatch of explanatory statements where an appeal against refusal is lodged and (c) the retention of explanatory statements by the Home Office before dispatch to the Immigration Appellate Authority; and how those targets have been met over the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Chris Mullin: I can confirm that the following targets have been set:
	90 per cent. of entry clearance issuing posts to interview settlement entry clearance applicants within a set target time. The target time is 12 weeks except for New Delhi, Bombay, Dhaka and Islamabad; separate targets, currently nine months apply for these posts due to the high number of settlement applications received. The latest performance measurements, covering the period 1 April to 31 October 2003, indicate that 98.4 per cent. of posts have met their target.
	90 per cent. of straightforward non-settlement entry clearance applications to be decided within 24 hours. The latest performance measurement against this target, covering the period 1 April to 31 October 2003. is 91.7 per cent.
	90 per cent. of posts to make a decision within 10 working days on non-settlement applications requiring an interview. The latest performance measurement against this target, covering the same period, is 88.0 per cent.
	For settlement applications UKvisas' Best Practice gives a target of three months between the receipt of an appeal by the post abroad and its dispatch to the Appeals Processing Centre of the Home Office. For all non-settlement applications the target is one month. Figures for performance against these targets are done on a post-by-post basis and technical problems has meant that the figures are unreliable.
	I understand that there are no targets set by the Home Office for the processing of entry clearance appeals once received by the Appeals Processing Centre. The processing of all appeals is dictated by the capacity of the Immigration Appellate Authority which is able to accept 7,100 cases per month. Ministerial priority states that 6,000 of these must be asylum cases, if these are available. This has been the case until October 2003. Significantly more entry clearance cases have been sent since then and this is set to continue over the next few months.

Pakistan (Immigration)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average time taken in the last 12 months was between the lodging of an appeal in Pakistan against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement and the completion of processing by UKvisas.

Chris Mullin: Appeals against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement are processed in the UK by the Appeals Processing Centre of the Home Office. The current average time between receipt of an appeal at our high commission in Islamabad and its dispatch to the appeals processing centre is approximately four months.

Pakistan (Immigration)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long he estimates that it will take for UKvisas to process the backlog of appeals in Pakistan against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement.

Chris Mullin: Appeals against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement are processed in the UK by the appeals processing centre of the Home Office. Our high commission in Islamabad estimates that the average time between receipt of an appeal and its despatch to the appeals processing centre will be reduced to three months, in line with UK visas best practice guidelines for the processing of appeals, by the end of January.

Pakistan (Immigration)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the earliest date of an appeal in Pakistan against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement which has yet to be processed is.

Chris Mullin: The earliest date of an appeal against the refusal of entry clearance for settlement from our high commission in Islamabad awaiting despatch to the appeals processing centre of the Home Office is 15 August 2003.

United States (Anthrax Production)

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his US counterparts on US policy on production of anthrax.

Mike O'Brien: There have been no recent discussions between my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and his US counterpart regarding production of anthrax.
	The United States is a state party to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC). Under Article X of the convention, a state party is permitted to keep and produce quantities of bacteriological agents for peaceful purposes such as in the production of vaccines.
	In 1969, President Richard Nixon put an end to the United States' offensive Biological Weapons programme.
	The US has stated that it only produces small quantities of anthrax for research to develop defensive systems to detect deadly spores in the air and to decontaminate areas in the event of a biological attack.

Yukos Affair

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 16 December 2003, Official Report, column 798W, what the nature was of his conversation with the Russian ambassador regarding the Yukos Affair.

Bill Rammell: My conversation with the Russian ambassador ranged over a number of issues but I took the opportunity to raise the "Yukos affair". I expressed the importance we attach to the continuation of the successful reform process in Russia, in which the UK has a significant interest.
	I stressed that it is important that foreign investor confidence should be maintained and that Russia continues to be seen as offering an environment in which investors can do business, where the law is applied impartially and with respect for due process.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agrochemicals

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of how much was spent by (a) agricultural and (b) horticultural producers on agrochemicals in each of the past six years for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: There are no figures available that specifically identify spending by agricultural and horticultural producers on agrochemicals.
	However the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) does receive annual figures of overall turnover of all sales of approved pesticides as a part of its calculation of the pesticide levy to help fund the regulatory process. These cover sales of agricultural, horticultural, amateur, forestry and amenity pesticides.
	The overall value of UK sales of approved products that have been declared to PSD are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1998 591 
			 1999 572 
			 2000 484 
			 2001 439 
			 2002 446 
			 2003 448

Air Quality

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with (a) BAE systems and (b) other manufacturers regarding the timetable for implementation of new aircraft technology which would reduce detrimental effects on air quality.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra has not had any discussions with BAE Systems or other aircraft technology manufacturers.
	There is a continuous dialogue between the Government and industry on action to reduce emissions impacts. Two current fora stand out:
	a. Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team—this Department of Trade and Industry sponsored initiative has adopted the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe targets for improvements in fuel efficiency and oxides of nitrogen emissions by 2020; and
	b. Greener by Design—an industry initiated group looking at innovative solutions to aviation environmental problems. It reported in February 2002 and is now entering a phase of work promoting a range of actions, including technological solutions, to reduce emissions.
	The Government also engage with UK industry and the wider manufacturing sector through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) pushing for action to reduce emissions. ICAO action is focused upon shorter term technology improvements through increases in the stringency of emissions standards and establishing longer term technology goals.

Air Quality

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the company commissioned by her Department to conduct the air quality study around Heathrow has previously conducted studies and research for airlines.

Ben Bradshaw: Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC) has not previously conducted studies or research for airlines. CERC has previously conducted studies involving airport emissions for local authorities and for BAA plc; a Dublin airport study is ongoing.

Air Quality

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether interim findings from the study on air quality in the Heathrow area commissioned by her Department have been incorporated in discussions on the proposal for a third runway at Heathrow.

Ben Bradshaw: Interim findings from the study are not yet available and so have not been incorporated in discussions on airport capacity at Heathrow.

Air Quality

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the report on air quality around Heathrow from Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants Ltd. will be discussed with the Department for Transport after its publication.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department for Transport will be kept informed of progress of the research and the report will be discussed with the Department before and after its publication.

Animal Welfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to use the proposed Animal Welfare Bill to update the Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Yes. The Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963 is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to captive and domestic animals that my department is looking to revise and consolidate under the proposed Animal Welfare Bill.

Animal Welfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her assessment is of the effectiveness of Government attempts (a) to improve the welfare standards of horses being transported for slaughter in Europe within the draft EU regulation and (b) to include within it the dispensation for the UK to maintain protection for its horses; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: One of the aims of the draft EU regulation on the welfare of animals during transport is to improve the welfare of horses transported for slaughter in Europe and the Government welcomes and supports those aspects of the draft. We are also developing measures to protect horses that are based on animal welfare, will further improve horse welfare throughout the EU and that do not rely on special dispensation for the UK.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how long mycobacterium bovis bacilli can survive on open pasture; and under what conditions.

Ben Bradshaw: Mycobacterium bovis may be present within a variety of media on open pasture, each influencing the survival of the bacilli. In cow manure M. bovis may survive for up to four months in autumn, five months in winter and two months in spring, dependent on concentration. Greater concentrations promote survival.
	When exposed to sunlight at 24–34 degrees celsius M. bovis has survived for 5–11 months in manure at pasture. Survival in samples buried in 1cm deep pits has been up to one year and at 5cm deep up to two years.
	M. bovis can be highly concentrated in badger urine and can survive for over a week on open pasture during the winter but very few bacilli survive after four weeks. During the summer survival can reduce to less than three days in badger urine.
	M. bovis in badger bronchial pus and sputum can survive for up to 10 weeks on open pasture in winter but less than one week in summer. Survival in badger faeces can be for up to one month during the winter but less than two weeks in summer.
	Survival may also be influenced by the presence of other microorganisms in the environment. Fungi, algae, protozoans and many other bacteria compete with M. bovis for nutrients, may have greater growth rates, and may produce natural antibiotics.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many TB reactor cattle were reported to her Department and its predecessors, (a) in each year from 1990 to 2002 and (b) from 1 January to 31 October; how many were subject to culture testing; and how many proved TB positive on culture.

Ben Bradshaw: Table 1 shows the number of TB reactors, how many were subject to culture for Mycobacterium bovis, and the number successfully cultured for the years 1990–2002 in Great Britain.
	Table 2 gives provisional data for the number of TB reactors, the number subject to culture, and the number successfully cultured for Mycobacterium bovis in Great Britain for 2003 (till end of October).
	
		Table 1 GB Figures
		
			  Number of TB Reactors Number Subject To Culture Testing TB Positive on Culture 
		
		
			 1990 719 4 (1)— 
			 1991 1,050 4 (1)— 
			 1992 1,086 (1)— (1)— 
			 1993 1,814 2 (1)— 
			 1994 2,248 515 238 
			 1995 2,861 2,492 1,051 
			 1996 3,296 2,852 1,163 
			 1997 3,358 3,005 1,196 
			 1998 5,063 4,121 1,645 
			 1999 6,047 4,894 2,033 
			 2000 7,143 5,456 2,550 
			 2001 5,472 3,818 1,447 
			 2002 20,053 14,102 2,557 
		
	
	(1)— Data not available
	
		Table 2 2003 GB Figures (provisional)
		
			  January to October 2003 
		
		
			 Number of TB Reactors 17,589 
			 Number Subject To Culture 12,228 
			 TB Positive on Culture 2,681

Bovine TB

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many badgers were culled in each reactive area as part of the Independent Science Group study into bovine TB.

Ben Bradshaw: The table lists the numbers of badgers culled in the reactive treatment areas of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial.
	
		Numbers of badgers culled in reactive treatment areas of randomised badger culling trial
		
			 Triplet Name of reactivetreatment area Number of badgers culled 
		
		
			 A Blaisdon 117 
			 B Hartland 301 
			 C Otterham 394 
			 D Puddlestone 122 
			 E Cold Ashton 188 
			 F Stithians 435 
			 G Nettley Knowle 256 
			 H Brendon Hills 159 
			 I Alderton 94 
			 J Cadbury 0

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for post movement testing of cattle for exposure to M.bovis; and what assessment she has made of the implications of such testing (a) within four months of movement and (b) by the date of the next due test of the herd from which the animal came.

Ben Bradshaw: All farmers have been sent a leaflet "Golden rules for a healthy herd", which advises purchasers to check the disease status of cattle prior to purchase and to consider arranging a private TB test for their herd.
	In February 2003, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced a review of our bovine tuberculosis strategy. Early in the new year we will be publishing a consultation document which will represent the outcome of the first stage of that review. The consultation document will include proposals for short term measures for reducing the risk of geographic spread of bovine TB from high to low incidence areas, including consideration of proposals for the pre and/or post movement testing of cattle.
	When considering post-movement testing of cattle sold from farm to farm, we have envisaged that, as a general rule, such tests would be administered between 60 and 120 days after movement (i.e. 2–4 months post movement). This is to ensure that a minimum of 60 days have elapsed since the last test and since any potential exposure to M.bovis on the premises of origin, to avoid problems of de-sensitisation caused by recent testing and to allow for the normal delay in the development of a response to the skin test. Knowledge of whether a pre-movement test had taken place and when, would allow the post movement test to be better targeted.
	Assuming post-movement testing is carried out as outlined, the date of the next due test of the herd of origin need not be considered.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the recognised minimum time required is from exposure of cattle to M.bovis to an immune response which will show in the skin test used by her Department.

Ben Bradshaw: The immune response elicited by Mycobacterium bovis in cattle takes several weeks to develop to a stage where it is detectable. For the single intradermal comparative test used in the UK and Ireland, this period of "unresponsiveness" or latency varies between 30 and 50 days.
	To allow for random and natural variation in the latency period of individual animals, the legislation requires repeat testing to be carried out at intervals of at least 60 days from the date of the removal (or isolation) of all the reactors identified at the previous skin test.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what significant variations in incubation period have been observed in herd breakdowns involving several cattle reactors resulting from infection with M.bovis.

Ben Bradshaw: Many factors influence the progression of Mycobacterium bovis, infection into detectable disease, including the strain of the bacterium, size of bacterial challenge and route of infection. Other factors include affected animal (species, breed, genotype, age) or the effects of its environment (nutritional status, stress, other infections and environmental bacteria).

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many strains of M.bovis have been found in (a) cattle and (b) badgers in the UK; and what assessment has been made of the virulence of each strain.

Ben Bradshaw: M.bovis isolates are routinely typed using a DNA fingerprinting technique called spoligotyping. In Great Britain 30 different spoligotypes have been identified in cattle and in 16 badgers. Of those in cattle, 12 of those account for 99 per cent. of the isolates.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of whether development of lesions in cattle following exposure to M.bovis is the result of (a) a more virulent strain, (b) the level of infective dose and (c) the frequency of the infective dose.

Ben Bradshaw: The pathogenesis of bovine TB is not yet fully understood. As a result, Defra is funding several research projects into the pathogenesis and immunology of the disease.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average length of herd breakdown was in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 1998; how many 60 day tests were needed to clear (i) suspect and (ii) infected herds in each year; and what the cost of the tests were.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is as follows:
	(a) The average duration of TB incidents ending in 2002 was skewed by those herds already restricted when TB testing was suspended during the foot and mouth disease outbreak of 2001. The figures for TB incidents ending in 2002 (the last year for which statistics are available) were as follows: unconfirmed incidents—149 days; confirmed incident—291 days.
	(b) The mean length of unconfirmed new TB incidents (herd breakdowns) ending in 1998 was 114 days, i.e. slightly less than two short interval (60-day) tests. In the same year, the mean length of confirmed new incidents was 208 days.
	Information on the cost of tests needed to clear unconfirmed and confirmed herd incidents in each year is not readily available and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of badgers which appeared TB free in post-mortem examination were culture positive to M.bovis, in the last year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The last year for which data are available is 1999. These are from Badger Removal Operations and the Road Traffic Accident (RTA) survey that predate the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and associated RTA survey.
	In 1999, 874 badger carcasses were considered suitable for post-mortem examination. 753 displayed no visible lesions suggestive of TB. Mycobacterium bovis was isolated in 54 of these.
	Therefore, the proportion appearing TB free at post-mortem, but culture positive for m. bovis is 7.2 per cent.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of cattle showed no visible lesions in post mortem examination but were culture positive for M.bovis, in the last year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: Last year, 6,600 samples were sent for laboratory culture after no visible lesions were found at post mortem. Mycobacterium bovis was successfully cultured in 5.6 per cent. of these.

Bovine TB (Badgers)

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of whether badgers infected by TB may excrete urine from which viable m. bovis bacilli may be isolated; what the typical quantities per millilitre are; and whether such levels are capable of causing infection in cattle through (a) contamination of feed and (b) other mechanisms.

Ben Bradshaw: Some badgers develop TB infection in the kidneys 37 per cent. of infected badgers sampled post mortem between 1971 and 1978 m. bovis was isolated from the kidneys and may excrete m. bovis bacilli in urine. Urine is typically left in trails up to a metre or more in length and may be focussed at a latrine or distributed more randomly as the badger forages. Concentrations of up to 300,000 bacilli per ml of badger urine have been reported and experimental nasal inoculation of cattle suggests that, at this concentration of viable microbes, less than 0.03 ml would need to be inhaled by cattle in order to promote slow infection.
	Investigations into infection of cattle from feed and other sources contaminated with infected badger urine are lacking. However, risk of infection to cattle by infected badger urine on cattle feed would be a function of the survival of the microbe in the feed (which is dependent on, for example, duration since excretion, moisture content of the environment, exposure to UV rays) the number of microbes consumed by the cattle and the method of consumption (i.e. ingestion or inhalation). I am unaware of measurements of m. bovis survival in cattle feed but the environment inside farm buildings is generally considered to be conducive to longer periods of survival than at pasture, where m. bovis in badger urine has survived for three days in summer and 28 days in winter.
	Cattle appear less able to detect badger urine than faeces at pasture away from latrines. In addition, patches contaminated with urine detected by cattle appear to be sniffed more than those contaminated with faeces. Furthermore, some cattle do not select against latrines and freely graze over them. Therefore, potential sources of risk of cattle contact with infected badger urine include the ingestion of contaminated feed from feed stores or in troughs; investigation/grazing at and around latrines; and the investigation/grazing of contaminated pasture.

Bovine TB (Badgers)

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what controls there are on the movement of wild badgers, for relocation elsewhere, with particular reference to Krebs trapping areas.

Ben Bradshaw: Badgers are a protected species and it is an offence to take (or attempt to take) a badger from the wild, including for the purpose of relocation elsewhere (Protection of Badgers Act 1992, s.1(1)). A person guilty of this offence is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
	There are certain exceptions to this offence, two of which are specifically relevant to the issue of relocating badgers. These are the treatment of injured or sick badgers, and relocations licensed by the appropriate statutory conservation agency or agricultural department (English Nature and Defra, respectively, in England).
	Under section 6, a person is not guilty of an offence by reason only of:
	"(a) taking or attempting to take a badger which has been disabled otherwise than by this act and is taken or to be taken solely for the purpose of tending it".
	As a native species, there are no specific restrictions under current law regulating where badgers are released once they have recovered. Normally, once fit enough to be released into the wild, the badger will be returned to the location where it was originally found. This approach is recommended on welfare grounds due to their territorial nature, and also to avoid any risk of transmitting disease. However, there are situations in which this course of action may not be feasible (particularly in the case of orphaned cubs).
	There is a voluntary code of practice covering the rehabilitation and release of badgers, and this has a precautionary approach aimed at minimising the risk of transmitting bovine tuberculosis (TB). All badgers to be relocated are tested for TB three times. Only animals testing negative to all three tests are released and any animal testing positive is euthanased. The code also requires that all released badgers are permanently marked (by a tattoo or microchip) and registered. The code is available via the internet at: http://www. badger.org.uk/action/badger-rehabilitation-protocol-contents.html
	Under section 10 of the Act, licences may be issued to permit badgers to be taken from the wild (and relocated if necessary) for a limited range of specified purposes, including scientific investigation, preventing the spread of disease, and preventing serious damage to property.
	Relocating badgers is only permitted where there is considered to be a very low risk of transmitting TB, and before any badgers are released at a new location all animals are tested three times for the disease. All badgers testing positive to any of the three tests, or in contact with a badger testing positive, are euthanased.
	Badgers are not relocated as part of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (the so-called Kreb's trial), and the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB have advised that are no special arrangements relating to the relocation of badgers in trial areas.

Combined Heat and Power

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what incentive she provides for energy companies to set up combined heat and power initiatives; and what assessment she has made of the benefits for consumers.

Ben Bradshaw: Incentives introduced recently to encourage CHP schemes include: exemption of Good Quality CHP electricity from the Climate Change Levy; eligibility of Good Quality CHP for Enhanced Capital Allowances and business rates exemption on plant and machinery. Consumers benefit financially from CHP by saving up to 40 per cent. on fuel bills. There are also environmental benefits through reduced carbon emissions. Energy companies can also use CHP as a measure to meet their Energy Efficiency Commitment targets.

Committee on Radioactive Waste Management

Jack Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to ensure that the knowledge and experience of the management of nuclear materials held by people in West Cumbria are represented on the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 December 2003
	CoRWM members have been appointed upon the basis advertised on 26 March 2003 and in line with procedures laid down by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This provided a good field of over 400 candidates for membership, from which we have been able to appoint a strong committee.
	CoRWM's task will be to oversee a debate and assessment, involving both the public and stakeholder groups, of the way in which the UK's higher activity radioactive wastes should be managed over the long term and to provide UK Government and devolved administration Ministers with recommendations.
	CoRWM is an independent body that itself decides how it conducts its work. But it is clearly important that West Cumbria should be strongly represented in the debate which CoRWM will be launching and overseeing. The committee must deliver recommendations that can be seen to have a broad degree of support, and the views of the people of West Cumbria will be particularly significant given their experience and the stake that they have in the safe management of the UK's radioactive waste. CoRWM is required to take into account all views supplied to it in arriving at its recommendations.

Common Agricultural Policy

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy reform package of 26 June on tenant farmers in the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: No specific assessment has been undertaken of the impact of the CAP reform proposals on tenant farmers. However, we have assessed the impacts of the proposals on farming and other businesses generally in England, including an analysis by farm activity, and a summary of these is included in the Regulatory Impact Assessments which have been lodged in the House Libraries. An additional analysis looking at the impact on distribution of payments of various options for operating the Single Payment Scheme has also been carried out and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House. Our economists are continuing to analyse the potential impact of different methods of making the Single Payment.
	For the first time, the bulk of farm subsidy will not be dependent on what or how much farmers produce. As with the previous system, subsidy would be paid to the farmer, whether owner or tenant, will continue to hold the subsidy entitlement. Tenant farmers, along with other farmers, will therefore be free to produce what they judge the market wants and so be better able to cut costs and increase profits. Farmers will also be freed from some of the bureaucracy associated with the subsidy schemes which are being replaced by the new decoupled subsidy.

Common Agricultural Policy

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total cost of the common agricultural policy in the United Kingdom was to (a) consumers and (b) taxpayers; and what the costs were to (i) United Kingdom taxpayers and (ii) consumers, broken down by agricultural commodity supported by the common agricultural policy in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The consumer cost of the CAP can be estimated by examining the difference between UK and world prices for agricultural food products. Our latest provisional estimates for 2002 show a cost of the CAP to consumers of around £3.3 billion.
	The notional taxpayer contribution to CAP expenditure can also be estimated though, in practice, UK taxpayers contribute to the whole EU budget rather than to specific components. We estimate that, in 2002, this notional cost to UK taxpayers of expenditure under the CAP was around £3.5 billion.
	The following table shows an approximate breakdown of consumer support between agricultural commodities. These estimates have, in the main, been compiled using the methodology utilised by the OECD to produce their estimates of the Consumer Support Estimate. It should be noted that the aggregate estimates will be more robust than estimates for the individual commodities. It is particularly difficult to determine the appropriate gap between UK and world prices for products whose specification varies, such as fruit and vegetables, or pigs, eggs and poultry.
	
		£ million
		
			 Commodity Cost 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Cereals 30 
			 Sugar beet 130 
			 Milk 920 
			 Beef and veal 770 
			 Pigs, eggs and poultry 700 
			 Fruit and vegetables 290 
			 Others 470 
		
	
	UK taxpayers contribute to the entire EU budget rather than to specific programmes. Whilst it is possible to provide an illustrative estimate of the notional contribution to the FEOGA budget, it is not feasible to do so by commodity. However, the following table sets out the share of FEOGA spending by sector.
	
		
			 CAP categories Share of expenditure (percentage) 
		
		
			 Arable crops 43 
			 Sugar 3 
			 Oils, fats and protein plants 6 
			 Fruit and vegetables 4 
			 Wine 3 
			 Tobacco 2 
			 Milk products 5 
			 Meat, eggs and poultry 18 
			 Various markets 3 
			 Other operations 3 
			 Rural development 10

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will reply to the letter to her dated 10 November from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Darren Pennington.

Alun Michael: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State replied to my right hon. Friend's letter on 23 December 2003.

Crop Areas

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will establish an independent inquiry into errors made by the Department in respect of the wheat area for this year's harvest.

Ben Bradshaw: The cause of the error in the estimation of this year's crop areas has already been identified. In using the IACS data to augment the census basis, the mistake was made of mixing up holdings and businesses. It was a simple mistake. A modification has been made to the computer program to ensure that it is not repeated in the future. The department will be working with its independent statistical advisors to improve the system and processes. In the circumstances there is no need to conduct a separate independent inquiry.

Crop Areas

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will impose penalties on her Department's staff responsible for supplying incorrect details of the wheat area for this year's harvest.

Ben Bradshaw: A genuine error was made which was quickly corrected when spotted. The imposition of penalties is not appropriate in these circumstances. Defra operates a formal appraisal system for its staff which involves all aspects of their performance.

Dee Cockle Regulation Order

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the Dee Cockle Regulation Order to be implemented.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government will act jointly to make a single Regulating Order under the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967 once the prospective grantee, the Environment Agency Wales, is in a position to submit a formal application for the order. The agency is in the process of obtaining written consents from landowners and it will forward an application when these are received.
	We will ensure that the application is processed as quickly as possible under the terms of the 1967 Act but the process can take up to two years.

Environmental Taxation

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of GDP is raised in (a) the UK and (b) each other country belonging to the OECD as environmental taxation, (i) including and (ii) excluding taxation of energy.

Elliot Morley: The OECD's latest published figures for environmental taxation as a percentage of GDP are given in the following table. The environmental tax estimates include energy taxes but these are not published separately.
	
		
			 Member country Environmental taxation as a percentage of GDP in 2001 for each OECD member country 
		
		
			 Australia 1.93 
			 Austria 3.01 
			 Belgium 2.27 
			 Canada 1.33 
			 Czech Republic 2.93 
			 Denmark 4.70 
			 Finland 3.03 
			 France 2.22 
			 Germany 2.58 
			 Greece 2.53 
			 Hungary 2.72 
			 Iceland 2.50 
			 Ireland 2.36 
			 Italy Not available 
			 Japan 1.74 
			 Korea 3.40 
			 Luxembourg 2.86 
			 Mexico 1.75 
			 Netherlands 3.65 
			 New Zealand 1.57 
			 Norway 3.05 
			 Poland 1.95 
			 Portugal 2.94 
			 Slovak Republic 2.06 
			 Spain 1.89 
			 Sweden 2.80 
			 Switzerland 2.20 
			 Turkey 3.79 
			 United Kingdom 2.85 
			 United States 0.96

Envirowise

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list services offered by Envirowise that are not available from the private sector; what steps she has taken to invite the private sector to undertake services offered by Envirowise; and when they were taken.

Elliot Morley: Envirowise provides a range of services to business to promote best practice in preventing and minimising waste in all its forms, reducing pollution and making the most effective use of resources. The programme provides the Environment and Energy Helpline; a dedicated website; best practice publications; and on-site visits. All of these services are provided free of charge to UK businesses.
	The programme helps companies to recognise the need to improve their efficiency, and gives them sufficient information to start taking action. Companies may then either build on this activity themselves, or engage private sector service providers.
	Envirowise services are delivered jointly by two private sector companies through a contract won in open tender, following an invitation to tender published in the Official Journal in August 1999. The contract requires more than 50 per cent. of the Programme to be sub-contracted, and the managing contractors use over 200 other contractors each year. This includes over 80 specialist consultants on its Helpline panel, who are appointed through open tender every two years.

Flood Protection

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 9 December, Official Report, column 378W, on flood protection, what the relationship of flood defence committees to internal drainage boards is.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency (EA) is the principal flood defence operating authority in England and Wales. Generally speaking, the EA is empowered under the Water Resources Act 1991 for managing flood risk arising from designated "main" rivers and the sea. The EA is also responsible for flood forecasting and flood warning dissemination, and for exercising a general supervision over matters relating to flood defence.
	Regional Flood Defence Committees in England and Wales are made up of Defra, EA and Local Authority appointed members, and they are responsible for undertaking flood defence activities on behalf of the Environment Agency.
	Internal drainage boards (IDBs) are statutory bodies, empowered under the Land Drainage Act 1991 to undertake flood defence works for watercourses which have not been designated as "main", in specified districts with special drainage needs.
	Although there are no formal relationships or guidance for membership between the RFDCs and IDBs, there is nothing to stop an individual member occupying a position on the committee of both an RFDC and an IDB in their area, and in some instances this is the case.

Food Miles

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what studies her Department has funded since 1997 into food miles; and what the conclusions and recommendations were.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra has commissioned a group of researchers, led by AEA Technology, to examine the validity of food miles as a quantitative measure of progress in the sustainable development of the farming and food industries. This research is expected to be completed in spring 2004.
	Defra has also contributed a small amount of funding, along with other stakeholders, to a Transport 2000 study to model various transport distribution scenarios for a 'basket' of three food products. The study examined whether a shift to sourcing these products more locally would lead to greater or fewer CO 2 emissions in the supply chain overall. Transport 2000 has recently published the results of this work in "Wise Moves—exploring the relationship between food, transport and CO2".

Food Prices

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average (a) farmgate and (b) retail price was of (i) one kilogram of (A) beef, (B) lamb, (C) pork, (D) chicken, (E) turkey, (F) bacon, (G) dessert apples, (H) potatoes, (I) carrots, (J) cauliflower, (K) peas, (L) runner beans, (ii) one pint of (x) milk, (y) cream and (z) yoghurt, (iii) one dozen eggs and (iv) one litre of (X) English wine and (Y) brandy in each year since 2000 for which figures are available, broken down by (1) organic and (2) conventionally produced foodstuffs.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 15 December 2003
	The farm gate and retail prices of conventionally grown foodstuffs for 2000 to 2002, where available, are shown in the table. Prices are not collected for English wine or brandy. Small quantities of cream and yoghurt are sold to the consumer at retail prices. The amount of processing taking place between farm gate and retail varies from commodity to commodity; an indication is given in the table. Farm gate prices include produce destined for highly processed food, which is normally lower quality and sells at a lower price.
	No further information is available for prices of organically produced food.
	
		Conventionally grown produce
		
			2000 (£) 2001(£) 2002 (£) Indication of further processing 
		
		
			 Beef Farmgate value (a) £/kg 1.69 1.64 1.70  
			  Retail value (b) £/kg 3.80 3.77 3.84 slaughtered, trimmed and cut 
			 Lamb Farmgate value (a) £/kg 1.90 1.97 2.36  
			  Retail value (b) £/kg 4.52 4.78 4.84 slaughtered trimmed and cut 
			 Pork Farmgate value (a) £/kg 0.95 0.97 0.94  
			  Retail value (b) £/kg 2.00 2.21 2.26 slaughtered, trimmed and cut 
			 Chicken Farmgate value (c) £/kg 0.71 0.70 0.69  
			  Retail value (d) £/kg 2.23 2.27 2.24 slaughtered 
			 Turkey Farmgate value (c) £/kg 1.30 1.24 1.13  
			  Retail value £/kg n/a n/a n/a slaughtered 
			 Bacon Farmgate value (a) £/kg 0.95 0.99 0.96  
			  Retail value (b) £/kg 3.10 3.55 3.54 slaughtered, trimmed and cut 
			 Apples, dessert Farmgate value (e) £/kg 0.35 0.36 0.45  
			  Retail value (g) £kg 1.08 1.17 1.21 packing and grading where off farm 
			 Potatoes Farmgate value (f) £/kg 0.08 0.11 0.08  
			  Retail value (h) £/kg 0.67 0.41 0.39 packing and grading where off farm 
			 Carrots Farmgate value (f) £/kg 0.28 0.26 0.18  
			  Retail value (h) £/kg n/a 0.62 0.55 packing and grading where off farm 
			 Cauliflower Farmgate value (e) £/kg 0.27 0.28 0.34  
			  Retail value (g) £/kg 0.57 0.69 0.68 packing and grading where off farm 
			 Peas for processing Farmgate value (e) £/kg 0.19 0.20 0.29  
			  Retail value (i) £/kg n/a 1.17 1.12 packing and grading where off farm 
			 Runner beans Farmgate value (e) £/kg 0.88 0.79 0.77  
			  Retail value £/kg n/a n/a n/a packing and grading where off farm 
			 Milk Farmgate value (j) £/pint 0.10 0.11 0.10  
			  Retail value (g) £/pint 0.19 0.20 0.23 pasteurised, bottled and transport; shop and delivered 
			 Eggs Farmgate value (g) £ dozen 0.53 0.55 0.56  
			  Retail value (g) £ dozen 1.60 1.53 1.52 packing and grading where off farm 
		
	
	Source:
	(a) MLC, Defra
	(b) MLC for 2000, other years derived by applying RPI for the item to 2000 value
	(c) Average producer price (p/kg carcase weight). Source: Agriculture in the United Kingdom, Defra http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/auk/default.asp
	(d) Chicken, roasting, fresh. Source: ONS
	(e) Average farmgate prices for crop years. Source: Basic Horticultural Statistics, Defra http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/bhs/default.asp
	(f) Agriculture in the United Kingdom, Defra http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/publications/auk/default.asp
	(g) ONS
	(h) Old white loose potatoes, not including pre-packed. Source: ONS
	(i) Frozen garden peas, price per 900–910g bag grossed up to £:kg. Source: ONS
	(j) MMBs, Defra

Foot and Mouth

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent by her Department in investigating the validity of payment claims submitted by businesses to her Department for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth crisis.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 5 January 2004
	To date, and from information held centrally, the Department has spent £19.81 million on professional services investigating the validity of payment claims submitted by businesses for the £1.3 billion expenditure on goods, services and works arising out of the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak.

Foot and Mouth

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many invoices have been settled after the due date by her Department in relation to work undertaken by businesses in connection with the foot and mouth crisis; what the combined value was of the original invoices submitted; and how much interest has been paid on these settlements in accordance with the Late Payment of Debt Act 1998.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 5 January 2004
	The Department believes that, on the basis of the professional advice it has received, in almost all cases, no due date has arisen because Defra has legitimate grounds for withholding payments. This includes instances where the due date has not yet arisen because the businesses have not provided sufficient and necessary evidence to enable their charges to be verified.
	The Department's payment terms are the payment of valid invoices within 30 days of receipt and agreement of valid invoices for goods, services and works requested by the Department. The Department is disputing payment in those cases where it believes on the basis of the quantum, accounting, legal and technical advice it has received that it was overcharged for goods, services and works during the foot and mouth disease outbreak. In all other cases bar the one identified as follows, the Department believes it has paid businesses in accordance with contractually agreed terms for the goods, services and works provided in connection with the outbreak.
	The Department believes that the direct cost to the public sector of the expenditure on goods, services and works during the outbreak was £1.3 billion. The Department is still receiving invoices from contractors some 24 to 29 months after the outbreak in 2001. These are the subject of forensic examination and investigation.
	To date, the Department has received 11 claims for interest allegedly due on the late payment of commercial debts. These total £132,879.23. Applying the terms of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 to these claims has resulted in the agreement and payment of £4,057.90 of the claimed sum. All claims are considered on the facts of that claim.

Foot and Mouth

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many invoices submitted by businesses to her Department for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth crisis have not yet been paid; what the total value is of these unpaid invoices; and how many invoices have been outstanding for a period of more than (a) 30 days, (b) six months, (c) one year and (d) two years.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 5 January 2004
	Information as to how many invoices submitted to businesses for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth disease outbreak have not yet been paid can be provided only at disproportionate cost for the following reasons: the facts of each case are not necessarily similar; some contractors issued few large value invoices; some contractors issued significant numbers of lower value invoices; other contractors submitted statements of account or applications for interim payment; some invoices are rejected in their entirety; other invoices are rejected in part; forensic examination of contractor accounts focuses on the valuation of the entire account.
	A large number of businesses received significant payments on account pending final verification of their charges. Other businesses were paid in full or partially paid in the honest belief at the time that their charges were valid only for subsequent examination and investigation to reveal that legitimate grounds existed and continue to exist for Defra seeking to recover these payments by way of restitutionary proceedings.
	Currently, the Department is withholding £55.698 million from businesses in connection with charges arising from the provision of goods services and works during the outbreak. This figure will increase as the Department is continuing to receive invoices from some contractors which the Department on the basis of forensic examination and investigation will not be accepting as valid.
	As the Department has paid businesses on the basis of the contractual terms agreed it does not believe there are any valid unpaid and outstanding invoices, submitted by businesses to the Department, for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth outbreak.
	The Department is disputing payment in those cases where it believes on the basis of the quantum, accounting, technical and legal advice it has received that it was overcharged for goods, services and works during the outbreak. In all other cases, the Department has paid businesses for the goods, services and works provided in connection with the outbreak in 2001.
	The Department understands from the Forum of Private Business that the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group has, or is collecting, evidence that 20 or so contractors are still owed in excess of £10 million for goods, services and works claimed to have been provided during the outbreak in 2001. The Group has pledged it will write to the Department on these cases and Defra will respond once the evidence is to hand.

Foot and Mouth

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the average amount of time taken by her Department to investigate the validity of each payment request submitted by a business to her Department for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth crisis.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 5 January 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to Recommendations 12 and 13 of the National Audit Office Report into 'The 2001 Outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease'. The report can be found on the National Audit Office website at www.nao.gov.uk. I also refer the hon. Member to section (xiii) page 9 of the Fifth Report of Session 2002–03 on 'The 2001 Outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease', issued by the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts on 5 March 2003. The Report, together with Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence, and an Appendix is available at www.parliament.uk.
	The Department, along with other Departments in Civil Central Government, reports its payment performance annually to Parliament.
	The Department is unable to provide an estimate of the average amount of time taken to investigate the validity of each payment request submitted by a business to the Department for work undertaken in connection with the foot and mouth outbreak. The variable nature of the factors governing the processing of the accounts renders any average figure meaningless. These factors include but are not limited to the following:
	(i) the absence of any substantiating evidence on the part of some businesses including the supply of basic records evidencing the work done;
	(ii) some businesses refusing to co-operate with the Department in relation to the supply of such information, directly contributing to the time taken to process their accounts, and where such refusal has led to the Department valuing the account on the evidence available to it;
	(iii) some businesses seeking payment applying the incorrect contractual rates or being obliged to re-invoice Defra months, and in some cases years, after the original invalid charges;
	(iv) the Department is still receiving invoices for alleged work done some 2½ years after the foot and mouth disease outbreak;
	(v) the Department is unable to proscribe with certainty the timescales for forensic examination, investigation, litigation and alternative disputes resolution procedures.
	The Department has a public law duty to protect the public purse and will do so unfailingly in all circumstances where the evidence is sufficient and necessary to meet legal requirements in either a civil or criminal context.

Foot and Mouth

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce vaccination as a means of preventing the spread of foot and mouth disease as part of the Foot and Mouth Contingency Plan.

Ben Bradshaw: Prophylactic vaccination remains prohibited under the new EU Directive 2003/85 on the control of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). However, the Directive does give greater prominence to the potential use of emergency vaccination in the event of an outbreak.
	The Government's response to the independent inquiries into the 2001 FMD outbreak acknowledged that emergency vaccination would be considered as part of the control strategy from the start of any future outbreak of FMD, where measures additional to culling of susceptible animals on infected premises and dangerous contacts were needed. The latest version of Defra's FMD Contingency Plan includes details on the arrangements that are in place to allow for emergency vaccination in a future outbreak.

Grocery Retailers

Barbara Follett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the firm concentration ratios, adjusted for buying groups, are for grocery retailers in the European Union.

Ben Bradshaw: The latest available estimates of five firm concentration ratios for grocery retailers, adjusted for buying groups, are shown in the following table for individual EU member states and the EU as a whole.
	
		Five-firm concentration ratios in grocery retailing, adjusted to include buying groups, 1999
		
			  Market share (percentage points) 
		
		
			 Austria 58.6 
			 Belgium/Lux 66.0 
			 Denmark 76.6 
			 Finland 70.5 
			 France 64.7 
			 Germany 52.5 
			 Greece 33.5 
			 Ireland 58.3 
			 Italy 26.4 
			 Netherlands 71.7 
			 Portugal 67.0 
			 Spain 63.7 
			 Sweden 80.6 
			 UK 56.2 
			   
			 EU-15 (weighted average) 60.5 
		
	
	Source:
	London Economics

Grocery Retailers

Barbara Follett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of UK farmers sold direct to retailers in the last month for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not available.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the change in heavy vehicle traffic with hazardous loads following the implementation of the Hazardous Waste Requirements of the Landfill Directive in July 2004.

Elliot Morley: My right hon. Friend sees the Secretary of State for Transport frequently during which a range of topics is discussed. From July 2004, hazardous waste going to landfill will have to be treated to reduce its volume and/or its hazardous nature, facilitate its handling or enhance recovery. Over time, implementation of the Landfill Directive will also encourage greater wasteminimisation at source.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the impact of the Hazardous Waste Requirements of the Landfill Directive on residue disposal options for the metal recycling sector.

Elliot Morley: A number of very constructive meetings have been held with metals recycling interests to discuss disposal of residues. Those interests are also represented on the Hazardous Waste Forum. Options for dealing with residue disposal have been identified and these are being considered by the industry. As the Government is committed to reducing the UK's reliance on landfill, which makes little practical use of waste and is a missed opportunity to recover value from waste, it wishes to do all it can to encourage and support the recycling sector.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the top 20 producers of hazardous waste by mass; and what the extent is of their in-house disposal facilities.

Elliot Morley: The top twenty producers of hazardous waste by mass in England and Wales are listed below. The amounts involved are of waste consigned and therefore not going to in-house facilities. Data on waste going to in-house facilities is only held by the Environment Agency in an aggregated form.
	Airbus UK, Chester
	Baker Refractories, Worksop, Nottinghamshire
	Beckton Gas Works, London
	Blueprint, Portsmouth
	Castle Waste Services Ltd, Derbyshire
	Centre of Excellence, Rainham, Essex
	Fine Organics Ltd, Middlesbrough
	Former Gasworks, Cambridge
	Imco Recycling UK Ltd, Swansea
	Kane Haulage Ltd, Felsted
	Lattice Property, Bradford
	Milford Haven Dock, Dyfed
	Pembroke Dock, Dyfed
	Rugby Cement, Rugby
	Safety Kleen UK Ltd, Dinnington, Sheffield
	Solvent Resource Management Ltd, North Shields, Tyne and Wear
	Solvent Resource Management Ltd, Morecambe
	Taylor Woodrow Construction, Newcastle upon Tyne
	Waste Recycling Group, Sheffield
	Wyeth-Ayerst Ltd, Gosport, Hants

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the actions taken to meet the hazardous waste requirements of the Landfill Directive by (a) her Department and (b) those departments which previously held responsibility.

Elliot Morley: Actions taken by this Department and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to implement the 1999 Landfill Directive in England on diverting waste from landfill include:
	preparation and issue of Waste Strategy 2000;
	six rounds of public consultation on aspects of the Landfill Directive;
	setting up four stakeholders groups—including the Hazardous Waste Forum, and the Landfill Directive Implementation Group which is looking at the implementation of the Council Decision on waste acceptance criteria;
	the Hazardous Waste Forum has published an action plan on the reduction and environmentally sound management of hazardous waste;
	guidance material issued by the Environment Agency;
	organising seminars and taking part in those organised by others (e.g. the Environmental Services Association and the Chemical Industries Association);
	bilateral meetings with a wide range of industry and other interests;
	commissioning research and other projects (either direct or though the Hazardous Waste Forum or the Environment Agency);
	setting up the Waste and Resources Action Programme to develop markets for recycled materials (so diverting waste away from landfill);
	introducing the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund to support projects that use waste materials (e.g. construction and demolition waste) to replace primary aggregates.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action the Government is taking to ensure that small businesses do not dispose of hazardous waste in the domestic waste stream following implementation of the Hazardous Waste Requirements of the Landfill Directive.

Elliot Morley: The Hazardous Waste Forum is producing an action plan that includes educating waste producers on their responsibilities. The Environment Agency is responsible for regulating waste legislation and it too will seek to ensure that all producers of hazardous waste act in a responsible manner.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of hazardous waste was non-reactive in the last year for which figures are available.

Elliot Morley: This information is not available. The Environment Agency collects and records hazardous waste information that is provided by site operators. The Special Waste Regulations 1996 (as amended) do not require producers of special or hazardous waste to record whether or not waste being produced or disposed of is non-reactive.

Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the delay to the start of the landfill allowance trading scheme until 2005–06, including reference to the reasons for the delay; what assessment was made of the impact of the delay on the ability of the United Kingdom to meet the targets in the Landfill Directive; and what further steps have been taken to form a policy on whether or not to fine waste disposal authorities that fail to meet their landfill allowance targets.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 December 2003
	The decision to delay the implementation of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme until 2005 which was announced by the Minister of State for Local and Regional Government on 19 November 2003, was made to help reduce spending pressures on local government in 2004–05. It does, however, reflect the views of local authorities which we have received through our consultation on the implementation of the Scheme, that they needed more time to prepare for this new Scheme which is a significant departure from their normal operations. The delay in starting the scheme will mean that waste disposal authorities will have to make steeper annual reductions in the amount of biodegradable waste they landfill in order to meet the first target year of 2010 but they will have more time to plan how to do this.
	Policy on the remaining issues included in the consultation on the Scheme will be decided once all of the responses have been fully analysed and will be announced in the New Year.

Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government will set a ceiling on trading prices for landfill allowances.

Elliot Morley: No. The Government does not consider it appropriate to set a maximum price for allowances as this may lead to market distortion. However, the financial penalty for holding fewer allowances than the amount of biodegradable waste landfilled will act as a de-facto ceiling because local authorities are unlikely to purchase allowances if they cost more than the price of paying the penalty.

Livestock Disposal

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress towards the setting up of the livestock disposal scheme indicating what level of interest there has been in participating; and what particular measures are being considered to include the pig and poultry industry.

Ben Bradshaw: It is still the intention that the National Fallen Stock Scheme should begin early in the new year. It is too early to judge the likely interest in participation, but the scheme has the full backing of the farming organisations and it should save money for farmers who would otherwise have to make their own disposal arrangements. Conditions for the pig and poultry industry will need to reflect the particular requirements of the intensive sector.

Livestock Disposal

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on what business form the Livestock Disposal Agency will take; and what relationship exists between the Government and the National Farmers' Union.

Ben Bradshaw: The National Fallen Stock Scheme will be run by a Company limited by guarantee, initially owned by Defra and the Devolved Administrations. Its long term structure will need further discussion with the livestock industry as the intention is to transfer ownership in due course. Both the Government and the National Farmers' Union are committed to a partnership approach to developing and running the Scheme.

Orchard Fruit Survey

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the results were of the Orchard Fruit Survey, in hectares of fruit trees, for each of the six years to July 2003.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 15 December 2003
	The table shows the total tree area (including apples, pears, plums, cherries and other top fruit) of the Orchard Fruit Surveys 1998–2003.
	
		Orchard Fruit Survey, England and Wales
		
			  Total tree area (hectares) 
		
		
			 1998 21,981 
			 1999 21,483 
			 2000 20,823 
			 2001 21,104 
			 2002 18,739 
			 2003 17,671

Parasiticides

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the (a) use and (b) resistance to anthelmintics in the UK; and if she will make a statement on (i) anthelmintics, (ii) flukicides and (iii) similar Pharmacy and Merchants List drugs being under veterinary dispensing control.

Ben Bradshaw: Data on use of veterinary medicines is not normally collected, although the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) were involved in a survey on liver flukes and the use of flukicides in August 2002. The VLA have also conducted a number of related investigations over the past 20 years as part of MAFF and Defra funded research into resistance to anthelmintics. These have found that in the UK resistance is most commonly seen in sheep and goat nemotodes. Defra is currently funding a research project entitled "The development of computerised models for use in integrated parasite control strategies designed to optimise anthelmintic usage".
	In addition, the sheep industry has been involved in producing some short-term strategies to slow the development of anthelmintic resistance in internal parasites of sheep in the UK and a leaflet on the subject is on the Defra website www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/control/parasite control.htm
	In the sheep industry, anthelmintics are widely used because diseases such as parasitic gastroenteritis are economically important and avoidance of anthelmintic resistance is a high priority. The strategies aim to reduce use by means of more targeted applications, which at the same time may limit the development of resistance.
	Before a marketing authorisation for a veterinary medicinal product is granted, applicants must submit data which among other requirements must demonstrate that the product is efficacious under the proposed dose regime. This is scientifically assessed and potential future resistance is considered as part of this assessment. There are currently some 300 medicinal products authorised as anthelmintics and an additional 11 which also are authorised as flukicides. Less than 60 per cent. of these are supplied under the Pharmacy and Merchants List. There is no evidence that the route of supply of individual products has any effect on resistance.

Pesticides

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) minutes or other records were taken and (b) decisions were made at the Pesticide Safety Directorate stakeholder meetings on (i) 13 October and (ii) 24 October.

Alun Michael: Meetings were arranged with key stakeholders to discuss the issues raised by the informal consultation exercise on public access to information on pesticide use.
	Attendees were invited to give their views and suggestions concerning the type of system that might be introduced to notify residents of forthcoming spray activities (including the form any notification would take and the period before use when notification should be given). They were also asked how access might be provided to those wishing to see records of past spray activities.
	Notes were taken of the views of attendees and the practical suggestions they made. These are being considered, alongside the written submissions made in response to the informal consultation.

Plant Imports

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she will seek (a) sanctions against and (b) compensation from (i) the Netherlands and (ii) other nations found to have failed adequately to check the infectivity of plants exported to the UK for commercial sale.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 11 December 2003
	A Defra plant health official and an industry nominee recently made a visit to the Netherlands, at the invitation of the Dutch plant health authorities, to see how new EC measures against "Phytophthora ramorum" were being implemented. The visit has been the subject of misleading reports in the press. Boskoop, the main venue for sale of nursery stock in the Netherlands, was found to be fully compliant. At Aalsmeer, which is primarily a flower market, some consignments of plants were losing their plant passports when they were split up and sold on; a shortcoming which the Dutch plant heath authorities have agreed to address. Our surveillance of plants moving in trade, including those from the Netherlands, is being stepped up and plants found not to comply will continue to be destroyed.
	Collaboration between Forestry Commission scientists and their Dutch and German counterparts helped in 2001 to establish the link between dying trees in California and a new but minor disease on rhododendrons in Europe.
	We do not know how or where the pathogen arrived in Europe. Of the 330 UK findings, 70 per cent. have been on plants originating within this country, rather than imports. I do not believe it is appropriate at this stage to seek sanctions or compensation from the other countries with whom we are working to deal with this threat to European trees. The first recourse for someone who has received infected plants should be their supplier.

Plant Imports

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action her Department will take to protect (a) garden centres and (b) growers from imported plants infected with the tree fungus Phytophthora ramorum.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 11 December 2003
	Measures are already in place to help prevent garden centres and growers from importing plant material susceptible to the pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. These included, banning the import of host plants from affected areas of the USA and extending current controls on imported oak wood to include wood that comes from host trees in affected areas in the USA. All other susceptible plant material imported into the UK from third countries must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. For trade within the EC, all consignments of rhododendron and viburnum must be accompanied by a plant passport.
	The European Community's Standing Committee on Plant Health recently reviewed these measures and agreed that they should continue. Commission officials are now working on a draft to strengthen the current Decision. In addition, the UK will be stepping up its inspection of plant material entering the UK to ensure it complies with import arrangements. Any consignment entering the UK that is found not to possess the required documentation is destroyed.

River Trent

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the progress of the fluvial strategy for the River Trent.

Elliot Morley: I understand from the Environment Agency that they expect to consult on a draft of the River Trent Strategy in early spring 2004, and that they have provided you directly with a detailed progress report.

Rural Services

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation which would have to be amended fully to implement the proposals contained in Lord Haskin's report on the Delivery of Rural Services.

Alun Michael: The Secretary of State set out the Government's initial response to Lord Haskins' Review of Rural Delivery in November 2003. She said that she hoped to publish a detailed implementation plan for the proposals in the spring. The work being undertaken to develop that plan includes consideration of the detailed legal implications of the proposals, and changes to legislation will need to be addressed as part of the implementation plan.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government are on target to ensure that 95 per cent. of all sites of special scientific interest are in a favourable condition by 2010.

Ben Bradshaw: English Nature completed the first six year cycle of condition assessments for every SSSI in England in 2003, launching its report on this work on 15 December. This contains a wealth of information on the factors affecting SSSI condition. This information base is essential in setting a course for future progress towards the target. We aim to do this by the spring of next year, and to assess future progress against that course thereafter.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to change the number of sites of special scientific interest in England.

Ben Bradshaw: The notification of sites of special scientific interest is entirely a matter for English Nature in the exercise of its statutory functions. Significant improvements to the legislative framework brought about by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 now enable English Nature to also extend sites and to de-notify sites where they are no longer of special interest.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding was available for the (a) protection and (b) promotion of sites of special scientific interest in each of the past three years; and how much will be available for (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05.

Ben Bradshaw: Conservation of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) depends on raising awareness of issues and fostering partnerships with 32,000 owner/occupiers. A wide range of programmes contribute to the protection of SSSIs, including agri-environment schemes, water company investment, Government Departments' estate management and grant funding of National Park Authorities. It is not practicable to provide a breakdown of spending on SSSIs as specifically requested.
	However, English Nature's direct expenditure on management agreements and maintenance of SSSIs is reported in its annual reports. The figures, including for those that are also National Nature Reserves, are £11.8 million in 2000–01, £13.5 million in 2001–02 and £14 million in 2002–03. Its forecast spend in 2003–04 is £15.9 million. Plans for 2004–05 have not been settled.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the sites of special scientific interest in the Vale of York.

Ben Bradshaw: The list of sites of special scientific interest, either wholly or partly in the Vale of York is as follows:
	
		
			 SSSI Name SSSI Area in Vale of York (ha) Total SSSI Area (ha) 
		
		
			 Aubert Ings 10.68 10.68 
			 Birkham Wood 26.20 29.35 
			 Bishop Monkton Ings 10.32 38.13 
			 Dalby Bush Fen 1.61 7.50 
			 Farnham Mires 10.32 10.32 
			 Gormire 54.48 54.48 
			 Hack Fall Wood 0.13 42.98 
			 Kirk Deighton 4.03 4.03 
			 Newsome Bridge Quarry 1.57 1.57 
			 North York Moors 73.65 44,082.40 
			 Pilmoor 45.02 45.02 
			 Ripon Parks 26.11 129.74 
			 River Ure Bank, Ripon Parks 0.05 1.74 
			 Shaws Gate Quarry 0.83 1.45 
			 Snape Hill Quarry 0.58 0.58 
			 Upper Dunsforth Carrs 10.09 10.09 
			 Total 275.67 —

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on sites of special scientific interest.

Ben Bradshaw: The protection of over one million hectares of England's finest wildlife and geological heritage in over 4,000 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) is an essential component of the Government's approach to conserving biodiversity, as set out in "Working with the Grain of Nature"—the England biodiversity strategy.
	The wide range of factors affecting the SSSIs mean that their condition is a clear indicator of success in achieving sustainable development. That is why their condition is also an indicator of progress in the UK Sustainable Development Strategy "A Better Quality of Life", Defra's own sustainable development strategy "Foundations for our Future", and the Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food. The Government has a target to bring 95 per cent. of SSSIs into favourable condition by 2010, and is working with English Nature and others to bring this about.

Substitute Fuels

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what substances are prohibited from qualifying as substitute fuels under the Environment Agency's Substitute Fuels Protocol; what changes are planned to the list of qualifying substances; and if she will make a statement

Elliot Morley: An operator of an industrial installation or plant wishing to burn a fuel of a type not within the terms of the current operating permit or authorisation has to apply to the Environment Agency for a variation to allow trials to be conducted. Each variation application is determined by the Environment Agency on a case-by-case basis, and the Substitute Fuels Protocol provides guidance to its staff and operators on the application process.
	Under the current version of the protocol, trials of a fuel containing the following should not be allowed:
	(a) a radioactive material or radioactive waste as defined in Sections 1 and 2 respectively of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993; or
	(b) an explosive including: propellants, cartridges, or bombs, or explosive material extracted from them or explosive-contaminated material from their manufacture or decommissioning.
	Additionally, trials of a fuel to which any of the following substances has been added should not be allowed:
	polychlorinated biphenyls;
	pentachlorophenol;
	pharmaceuticals;
	pesticides;
	biocides; and
	iodine compounds.
	The Environment Agency plans to undertake a full public consultation on proposed revisions to the Substitute Fuels Protocol. When the consultation document is published within the next few weeks, it will be available for comment for three months. The protocol may then be revised, taking into account the comments received during the consultation period.

Sudden Oak Death

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has made to her counterparts in EU member states about the recent UK outbreak of sudden oak death.

Ben Bradshaw: Dialogue on "Phytophthora ramorum" takes place between officials on a regular basis and particularly during discussion in the European Community's Standing Committee on Plant Health. It was as the result of collaboration between UK, Dutch and German plant health services that the risks were identified and emergency measures against the introduction and spread of "Phytophthora ramorum" introduced throughout the EU in November 2002. These measures were reviewed by the Standing Committee on 11 December. Following the findings of the disease in tree species the UK made very clear its concerns about the spread of this disease and agreement was reached for the control measures to continue. Commission officials are now working on a draft proposal to strengthen the current Decision.

Sudden Oak Death

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Plant Health Laboratory concerning the recent UK outbreak of sudden oak death.

Ben Bradshaw: The plant health group at Defra's Central Science Laboratory is an important part of the UK's plant health service. The Laboratory confirmed the first finding of "Phytophthora ramorum" in the UK in April 2002. Their scientific assessment of risk and input into discussions on exclusion, eradication and containment is a continuous process and has proved invaluable in formulating our views on this particular disease since the risk was first identified in 2001. They are also involved in or leading many of the research projects which will help the development of plant health policy, risk management, and decisions on action taken. In many aspects of this work they collaborate closely with the Forest Research Agency.

Sudden Oak Death

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the origins of the recent UK outbreak of sudden oak death.

Ben Bradshaw: Phytophthora ramorum was first described as a new species in October 2001 and first found in the UK in April 2002. Surveys are being conducted to establish how widespread the disease is and this may give an indication of how many years it may have been present. There have been over 300 outbreaks of Phytophthora ramorum found in England and Wales, mostly on rhododendrons and viburnums. In 70 per cent. of these cases the plants were of UK origin. In most of the other cases plants had been imported from other EC member states. In each of the cases on trees, there had already been findings of the disease nearby on plants of the rhododendron family.
	The current scientific view is that the pathogen was probably introduced separately to California and to Europe from its place of origin, possibly the Far East. Investigations of past imports are continuing but it is unlikely that the original source, or the time and place of introduction, will be identified with certainty.

Sudden Oak Death

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are being taken to prevent the destruction of Britain's oak trees from indigenous fungal diseases.

Ben Bradshaw: Fortunately, there are only a few indigenous tree diseases which can affect oak trees to any significant extent. The main one is known as oak dieback, a complex disease in which a number of damaging agents interact to bring about a deterioration in tree condition. The Forestry Commission's Forest Research Agency is participating in a wide ranging European research programme which aims to gain new insights into the disease. The principal effort is being directed towards understanding the importance of the killing of fine roots by fungi in the genus Phytophthora. Further details are given in the commission's information note 'Dieback of Pendunculate Oak' which can be seen on the commission's website, www.forestry.gov.uk.

Sudden Oak Death

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms regulate garden centres and horticultural activities in respect of the control of the phytophthora ramorum fungus and the protection of keystone tree species; and what emergency measures are being taken to prevent the import of diseases affecting trees.

Ben Bradshaw: The Plant Health Order (Phytophthora ramorum) (England) (No. 2) Order 2002, implementing EC emergency measures, came into force on 1 November 2002. Plants of susceptible species moving within the EC must meet plant passporting requirements and member states have been required to carry out surveys to help detect the spread of the disease.
	Defra's Plant Health and Seeds Inspectors are undertaking checks at nurseries and garden centres known to trade in susceptible species. If infected plants are found in nurseries or garden centres during these inspections or surveys the legislation allows Inspectors to serve notice requiring the material to be destroyed along with any plants of susceptible species within 2 metres. Susceptible plants within 10 metres are placed on hold for a period to ascertain whether the disease is present before they can be moved.

Veterinary Surgeons

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) large animal and (b) small animal veterinary surgeons practise in the UK.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no such thing as a large or small animal vet as all veterinary surgeons are qualified to deal with any type of animal. At the last count (March 2003) there were approximately 12,000 veterinary surgeons in full time practice in the UK.
	In April 2003 The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), submitted evidence to the EFRA Select Committee inquiry into Vets and Veterinary services which showed that there are 2,375 main veterinary practices in the UK, of which 964 (41 per cent.) were farm practices.
	In the 2002 Manpower survey of how veterinary time was devoted to different areas of practice, it was reported that vets in general practice devoted 80.1 per cent. of their time to small animals, 5 per cent. to horses, 6.7 per cent. to cattle, 1.3 per cent. to sheep, 0.3 to pigs and 0.1 to poultry.

Warm Front Programme

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will extend the entitlement to central heating installation under the Warm Front scheme when a heating system still operates but is inadequate.

Elliot Morley: Following recent reviews of Warm Front and a stakeholder event held in November 2003, we are considering the options for the future format of the Scheme. This includes consideration of the rules surrounding boiler replacements.

Warm Front Programme

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has made to the Treasury regarding the adequacy of funding proposals for the Warm Front programme.

Elliot Morley: Future funding of the Warm Front scheme will be considered in 2004 as part of the normal Government Spending Round process.

Warm Front Programme

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress she is making on improving the Warm Front scheme to combat fuel poverty.

Ben Bradshaw: Following recent reviews of Warm Front and a stakeholder event held in November, we are now in the process of considering the options for the future format of Warm Front.
	We expect to make decisions on the future form of the scheme during early 2004.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on ways in which the Waste and Resources Action Programme has contributed to the reduction of global warming.

Elliot Morley: The Waste and Resources Action Programme's aim is to promote sustainable waste management by working to create stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.
	Attributing reductions in global warming (reductions in greenhouse gas emissions) to increases in recycling rate is an extremely complex area of research due to the number of variables to be taken into account. However, preliminary research undertaken by the Waste and Resources Action Programme indicates that using secondary materials (recycling) results in substantial energy savings when compared with production using primary materials. This initial assessment also suggests that if 30 per cent. of municipal solid waste is recycled in 2010 a reduction of approximately 10–15 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent gas could be achieved in the world.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people are employed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme; and what additional recruitment is planned.

Elliot Morley: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) currently employs 73 people, the majority of whom work on its core market development remit to promote sustainable waste management and to create stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products.
	In May 2003 WRAP'S remit was extended in England, as part of Government's response to the Strategy Unit report "Waste Not, Want Not", to include a household waste minimisation programme; an organics market development programme to provide material specific support and investment to the composting sector; the development of a kerbside recycling advisory service to local authorities and a targeted waste awareness programme combining national and local elements.
	As a result of these new programmes, recruitment plans will take WRAP to a projected full-time equivalent headcount figure of up to 140 by mid 2004. The increase in staff resources is in proportion to the increase in Government funding allocated to WRAP.

Waste Management

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the 47th Report of the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union, on European Union Waste Management Policy, and on its recommendations.

Elliot Morley: The Government are currently considering the report on European Union Waste Management Policy and will respond in due course.

Wessex Flood Defence Committee

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total budget for the Wessex Flood Defence Committee is for financial year 2003–04.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency is required to arrange for its flood defence functions, except for certain financial ones, to be carried out by Regional Flood Defence Committees (RFDCs). The RFDC may arrange for all or any of these functions to be carried out by Local Flood Defence Committees (LFDCs) under a scheme approved by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
	I understand from the agency that the total budget for the LFDCs overseen by the Wessex RFDC for the financial year 2003–04 is £27.2 million.

Wessex Flood Defence Committee

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Chairman of the Wessex Flood Defence Committee received in (a) pay and (b) reimbursement of expenses in 2003–04; and what overseas trips he undertook on official business in 2003–04.

Elliot Morley: The previous Chairman of the Wessex Regional Flood Defence Committee (RFDC) received the following amounts, from the beginning of the current financial year (1 April 2003) to the end of his term of appointment on 30 June 2003:
	(a) pay: £3,797.49
	(b) expenses: £981.62
	No overseas trips were undertaken on Environment Agency business.
	The current Chairman of the Wessex RFDC has received the following amounts since his appointment began on 1 July 2003:
	(a) pay: £9,627.16 (including £2,032.18 in respect of his Chairmanship of Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee (LFDC) until 6 October 2003)
	(b) expenses £1,882.80 (some of which relates to Somerset LFDC duties)
	No overseas trips were undertaken on Environment Agency business.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Asylum Seekers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many asylum seekers aged under 18 are in the care of social services, broken down by local authority.

Margaret Hodge: Information is not collected centrally in relation to all types of asylum seekers aged under 18. However information is available in relation to unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC).
	The information in respect of UASC is shown for 2002, the most recent year for which figures are available.
	
		Unaccompanied asylum seeking children looked after at 31 March 2002 aged under 18 by local authority
		
			 Local authority Number 
		
		
			 England 2,200 
			   
			 Barking and Dagenham 110 
			 Barnet 25 
			 Barnsley 0 
			 Bath and North East Somerset — 
			 Bedfordshire — 
			 Bexley 10 
			 Birmingham 10 
			 Blackburn and Darwen 0 
			 Blackpool 0 
			 Bolton 0 
			 Bournemouth 0 
			 Bracknell Forest — 
			 Bradford 0 
			 Brent 60 
			 Brighton and Hove — 
			 Bristol — 
			 Bromley 5 
			 Buckinghamshire — 
			 Bury — 
			 Calderdale 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 10 
			 Camden 55 
			 Cheshire 0 
			 City of London — 
			 Cornwall 0 
			 Coventry 0 
			 Croydon 235 
			 Cumbria 0 
			 Darlington 0 
			 Derby — 
			 Derbyshire — 
			 Devon 0 
			 Doncaster 0 
			 Dorset — 
			 Dudley — 
			 Durham 0 
			 Ealing 10 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire — 
			 East Sussex — 
			 Enfield 25 
			 Essex 5 
			 Gateshead 0 
			 Gloucestershire — 
			 Greenwich 35 
			 Hackney — 
			 Halton — 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 90 
			 Hampshire — 
			 Haringey 95 
			 Harrow 15 
			 Hartlepool 0 
			 Havering 10 
			 Herefordshire 0 
			 Hertfordshire — 
			 Hillingdon 155 
			 Hounslow 15 
			 Isle of Wight — 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 
			 Islington 80 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 75 
			 Kent 195 
			 Kingston upon Hull — 
			 Kingston upon Thames — 
			 Kirklees — 
			 Knowsley 0 
			 Lambeth 120 
			 Lancashire 0 
			 Leeds — 
			 Leicester — 
			 Leicestershire — 
			 Lewisham 35 
			 Lincolnshire — 
			 Liverpool — 
			 Luton 10 
			 Manchester 5 
			 Medway Towns 0 
			 Merton 10 
			 Middlesbrough 0 
			 Milton Keynes 10 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne — 
			 Newham 50 
			 Norfolk 15 
			 North East Lincs 5 
			 North Lincolnshire 0 
			 North Somerset 0 
			 North Tyneside — 
			 North Yorkshire — 
			 Northamptonshire 0 
			 Northumberland 0 
			 Nottingham — 
			 Nottinghamshire — 
			 Oldham 0 
			 Oxfordshire 25 
			 Peterborough 0 
			 Plymouth 0 
			 Poole — 
			 Portsmouth — 
			 Reading — 
			 Redbridge 30 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 35 
			 Rochdale 0 
			 Rotherham 0 
			 Rutland 0 
			 Salford 0 
			 Sandwell — 
			 Sefton — 
			 Sheffield 5 
			 Shropshire 0 
			 Slough 10 
			 Solihull — 
			 Somerset 0 
			 South Gloucestershire — 
			 South Tyneside 0 
			 Southampton — 
			 Southend 0 
			 Southwark 50 
			 St. Helens 0 
			 Staffordshire — 
			 Stockport — 
			 Stockton on Tees 0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent — 
			 Suffolk — 
			 Sunderland 0 
			 Surrey 20 
			 Sutton 5 
			 Swindon — 
			 Tameside 0 
			 Telford and Wrekin — 
			 Thurrock 40 
			 Torbay 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 0 
			 Trafford — 
			 Wakefield 5 
			 Walsall 0 
			 Waltham Forest 40 
			 Wandsworth 10 
			 Warrington — 
			 Warwickshire 10 
			 West Berkshire 0 
			 West Sussex 125 
			 Westminster 55 
			 Wigan 0 
			 Wiltshire — 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 0 
			 Wirral 0 
			 Wokingham 0 
			 Wolverhampton 0 
			 Worcestershire 0 
			 York 0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures rounded to the nearest five
	2. '—'Indicates number between one and five that has been suppressed for reasons of confidentiality
	3. Table excludes any children looked after under a series of short term placements
	Source:
	CLA100 return

Children in Care

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children aged up to three months entered local authority care in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: The figures available provide a snapshot at March 31 2002. At 31 March 2002 there were 390 children aged nought to three months looked after by local authorities in England.
	Data for 2003 is currently being evaluated and will be available in March 2004.

Children in Care

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average age of a child entering local authority care was in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: The figures available provide a snapshot at 31 March 2002. The average age of the children looked after by local authorities at 31 March 2002 is 10 years and 6 months. Data for 2003 is currently being evaluated and will be available in March 2004.

Adoption

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of adoption placements were terminated within the first year in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Margaret Hodge: In the year ending 31 March 2002, 7 per cent. of placements for adoption ended without the making of an adoption order.

Adoption

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to reduce administrative delays in the system for placing children for adoption.

Margaret Hodge: The National Adoption Standards for England have set timescales to ensure that each looked after child has a plan for permanence agreed at the four month statutory review, and where adoption is the plan, timescales for finding an adoptive family.
	The Adoption Register for England and Wales has been set up as a tool for helping to match children in need of adoption with approved adopters. It has been fully operational in England since April 2002 and in Wales since August 2002.
	The Government are committed to supporting local adopter recruitment activity, and has developed an Adopter Recruitment Toolkit for adoption agencies. The Government continues to support national recruitment activity through National Adoption Week. The Government made a further £60,000 available to support National Adoption Week 2003 following a grant of £60,000 in 2002 and £50,000 in 2001.
	Since 2001, adoption work in the county courts and above has been centralised in specialist Adoption Centres throughout England and Wales. The objective of specialist adoption centres is to improve the service for everyone involved in adoption by dealing with contested and uncontested cases quickly and efficiently in centres with specialist adoption judges and staff.

Adoption

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adoption placements have been completed in each local authority during each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: The table showing the number of looked after children adopted in each local authority in England, during the years ending 31 March 1998 to 2002, has been placed in the Library.

Adoption

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are awaiting adoption in each local authority area.

Margaret Hodge: The table showing the number of looked after children in England recorded on the Adoption Register for England and Wales who are awaiting a match with prospective adoptive parents at 10 December 2003, has been placed in the Library.

Antisocial Behaviour

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provisions have been made to include education programmes in strategies designed to cope with anti-social behaviour.

Ivan Lewis: Education-related programmes play a crucial part in our drive to tackle anti-social behaviour in three ways.
	The first is through the school curriculum, where pupils learn about socially responsible behaviour as part of Citizenship education. This is a statutory subject in secondary schools. Schools receive guidance on helping pupils to understand the impact of anti-social behaviour and deal with it assertively.
	The second is through a range of measures to reduce truancy, improve pupil behaviour in schools and reinforce parental responsibility for their children's behaviour in schools. They include national truancy sweeps, fast track to prosecution for truancy, in-school Learning Support Units, multi-agency Behaviour and Education Support Teams, key workers for children at risk of crime, police in schools and positive activity programmes in the school holidays. In addition the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, which comes into force at the end of February, will introduce penalty notices for truancy, parenting contracts for truancy and parenting contracts and orders for bad behaviour in schools.
	The third is through services for young people beyond the school. The Connexions service provides access to personal development opportunities to broaden horizons and develop talents. The Youth service develops young people's ability to make responsible choices and engage constructively with their community. Both services help young people to develop their ability to cope with the issues which affect them and to avoid falling into anti-social behaviour.

Broadband

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on progress on the extension of broadband connection to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Charles Clarke: The Prime Minister announced in November 2002 that all schools should be connected to broadband by 2006.
	There is good progress towards meeting this commitment. The most recent broadband connectivity statistics, from the end August 2003, reveal that 42 per cent. of all schools in England were connected to broadband at 2Megabits per second or faster (Mbps). 91 per cent. of secondary schools and 34 per cent. of primary schools were connected to broadband at this time.

CAFCASS

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which member of the CAFCASS Board has refused to resign.

Margaret Hodge: Judy Weleminsky is the member of the CAFCASS Board who declined to resign.

Child Care

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the definition is of approved child care.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 18 December 2003
	The Tax Credits Act 2002 allows parents using approved child care to claim for help with the costs of that child care through the tax credit system. Details of the types of care that are approved for this purpose can be found in the Inland Revenue leaflet—"WCT5—Help with the costs of child care". Copies of the leaflet can be found in the House of Commons Library.

Child Care

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many parents make use of approved child care.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 5 January 2004
	In 2002 the Department published the Repeat Study of Parental Demand for Childcare. This provides information about the use of early years and child care providers by parents with children aged 14 and under in England.
	Just over half of families (52 per cent. or 2.76 million) had used either early years education or some other formal child care provider (registered childminders, creche/nursery provider, out of school clubs and holiday schemes) in the past year. Almost a third (32 per cent.) reported using this type of provision in the past week.

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how he proposes to recruit inspectors for departments concerned with child protection; and who will pay for them.

Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend is not responsible for the recruitment of inspectors. Recruitment and payment of inspectors are matters for the bodies which employ them.

Child Trust Fund

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with financial companies about the assistance they can provide to schools to improve financial literacy, with particular reference to the child trust fund;
	(2)  if he will increase the amount of financial education given to children in the national curriculum, with particular regard to work related to the child trust fund;
	(3)  what discussions his Department has had with teachers' unions about the introduction of child trust funds and the need for increased provision of financial education in schools.

David Miliband: The Department has had discussions with a range of companies about supporting schools to improve numeracy and financial literacy, but none specifically in relation to the child trust fund. Personal finance education is covered in the curriculum as part of the Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship framework, and through subjects such as mathematics. Guidance issued in July 2000 encourages schools to involve local banks and building societies who may be able to provide resources or advice.
	It is for schools to determine the amount of time to be given to specific topics within the curriculum and the Department has no plans to recommend to schools that the amount of financial education should be increased.
	No discussions have been held between the Department and teachers' unions about the introduction of child trust funds and increased provision for financial education.

Children and Young People's Unit

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his joint working with the Home Office's Children and Young People's Unit and the development and delivery of shared initiatives with particular reference to the Participation Fund; and how such funds have affected Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East.

Margaret Hodge: The Children and Young People's Unit (CYPU)—previously a Unit located within the DfES but reporting to a Home Office Minister—is now part of the new DfES Children, Young People and Families Directorate, reporting to me. The valuable work pioneered by the CYPU in developing cross-Government initiatives, in supplying local partnerships and in involving children and young people in policy development will be incorporated in the work of my new Directorate.
	The Participation Fund is a small fund designed to support the development of mechanisms for the consultation and involvement of children and young people in England. Part of this budget is devoted to a Consultation Fund, which I launched in July this year. Its purpose is to provide opportunities for children and young people, in particular those in hard-to-reach groups, to be consulted on policies and services that affect them. No projects have yet been funded in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, but applications would be welcome (application details at www.cypu.gov.uk/participation/consultationfund.cfm).

Children's Registers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements are in place for children in the UK to be included on (a) national and (b) local registers.

Margaret Hodge: The Queen's Speech said that a Bill will be introduced to improve services designed to protect children. Subject to the outcome of consultation on the "Every Child Matters" Green Paper, this will include proposals for establishing local information sharing systems to enable practitioners to share early relevant information about children and young people where this will enable better services to be provided to them and their families.
	There are no plans for children to be included on a national register.

City Acadamies

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2003, Official Report, columns 659–60W, on city academies, how the funding is broken down between the three categories set out in his answer.

David Miliband: holding answer 5 January 2004
	The figure of £215.3 million set out in Section A of the Winter Supplementary Estimate 2003–04 breaks down as follows:
	Academy building refurbishment and construction costs—£167.9 million;
	Academies annual recurrent costs paid in general annual grant by the Secretary of State (including, where appropriate, start-up costs)—£38.3 million; and
	General administrative expenditure incurred by the Department in the running of the programme (including project feasibility and implementation costs)—£9.1 million.
	The second figure of £11.3 million set out in Section J of the Winter Supplementary Estimate 2003–04 breaks down as follows:
	Standards Fund grant paid to Academies by local education authorities—£11.3 million.

Delegated Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of the (a) total expenditure on education and (b) total expenditure on schools in each local education authority was delegated to schools in each of the last five years.

David Miliband: holding answer 15 December 2003
	The following table shows the percentage of each LEA's Local Schools Budget delegated to schools in the years 1999–2000 to 2002–03. Data for the percentage of total education expenditure delegated to schools by LEAs will require further work and I will write to the hon. Member.
	
		Percentage of local schools Budget delegated
		
			   1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 202 Camden 80.2 81.1 85.6 87.1 
			 203 Greenwich 78.5 84.1 85.7 87.7 
			 204 Hackney 76.4 83.4 85.2 86.6 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 79.5 85.9 87.3 87.2 
			 206 Islington 81.2 82.2 86.1 87.2 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 75.5 81.9 83.6 83.9 
			 208 Lambeth 85.0 81.4 83.7 85.2 
			 209 Lewisham 83.8 86.3 88.3 87.3 
			 210 Southwark 77.4 85.2 86.7 87.2 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 79.0 86.5 88.0 88.6 
			 212 Wandsworth 80.9 83.4 86.1 88.0 
			 213 Westminster 75.1 81.0 85.7 87.4 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 80.5 82.5 86.2 87.1 
			 302 Barnet 86.1 86.7 90.2 90.2 
			 303 Bexley 80.8 83.9 86.7 85.2 
			 304 Brent 87.8 88.0 88.5 87.7 
			 305 Bromley 82.5 83.3 85.8 86.1 
			 306 Croydon 83.4 84.9 85.6 86.0 
			 307 Ealing 80.5 81.9 86.4 87.3 
			 308 Enfield 81.2 83.5 86.7 87.0 
			 309 Haringey 74.9 81.2 85.1 87.3 
			 310 Harrow 80.2 83.1 86.1 88.0 
			 311 Havering 86.8 87.1 90.6 89.8 
			 312 Hillingdon 87.1 86.9 88.3 87.9 
			 313 Hounslow 84.3 84.4 86.9 87.4 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 83.8 84.3 88.5 87.1 
			 315 Merton 79.6 82.8 85.5 87.4 
			 316 Newham 76.4 83.2 86.5 86.8 
			 317 Redbridge 84.4 85.9 88.2 87.2 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 82.1 81.4 86.5 87.4 
			 319 Sutton 83.0 84.8 87.0 87.5 
			 320 Waltham Forest 83.8 84.2 86.0 87.1 
			 330 Birmingham 85.2 87.4 87.7 87.6 
			 331 Coventry 84.1 83.8 85.9 87.1 
			 332 Dudley 83.9 86.0 85.7 88.4 
			 333 Sandwell 78.6 83.2 87.9 88.3 
			 334 Solihull 85.5 86.0 86.9 85.4 
			 335 Walsall 86.1 85.9 86.8 87.2 
			 336 Wolverhampton 82.5 83.8 86.8 87.8 
			 340 Knowsley 80.0 82.8 86.2 87.3 
			 341 Liverpool 81.2 86.2 86.9 87.4 
			 342 St. Helens 81.2 84.0 87.7 88.0 
			 343 Sefton 80.2 86.4 89.5 89.0 
			 344 Wirral 81.6 82.8 87.1 86.7 
			 350 Bolton 80.8 84.2 85.3 86.9 
			 351 Bury 81.3 84.6 86.6 87.1 
			 352 Manchester 77.4 81.8 85.4 87.9 
			 353 Oldham 82.6 86.2 86.7 87.0 
			 354 Rochdale 80.6 83.6 87.4 87.6 
			 355 Salford 77.4 86.0 87.6 87.0 
			 356 Stockport 81.6 82.7 85.1 87.0 
			 357 Tameside 82.1 84.6 85.2 87.6 
			 358 Trafford 82.3 83.1 88.6 88.8 
			 359 Wigan 85.1 87.3 88.8 88.3 
			 370 Barnsley 77.1 82.3 86.6 87.3 
			 371 Doncaster 81.4 83.0 84.7 88.1 
			 372 Rotherham 82.4 87.0 88.9 87.9 
			 373 Sheffield 82.2 83.9 85.7 87.5 
			 380 Bradford 81.4 83.7 86.5 89.0 
			 381 Calderdale 83.1 84.1 85.8 87.9 
			 382 Kirklees 83.2 86.7 88.5 88.3 
			 383 Leeds 85.2 86.2 85.8 87.4 
			 384 Wakefield 77.8 82.3 85.0 87.0 
			 390 Gateshead 78.2 83.4 86.1 84.3 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 75.9 86.2 85.4 87.3 
			 392 North Tyneside 80.4 81.9 86.8 87.4 
			 393 South Tyneside 80.5 83.3 87.0 86.5 
			 394 Sunderland 84.6 85.6 86.7 88.4 
			 800 Bath & North East Somerset 82.6 84.2 85.2 87.8 
			 801 City of Bristol 82.7 85.2 86.1 87.7 
			 802 North Somerset 81.3 82.3 85.4 85.9 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 82.3 82.8 86.3 87.0 
			 805 Hartlepool 81.4 84.3 86.9 87.0 
			 806 Middlesbrough 76.7 84.5 86.3 85.6 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 82.2 86.6 87.3 87.6 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 81.3 85.7 86.3 87.1 
			 810 City of Kingston Upon Hull 81.0 83.1 85.8 87.1 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 83.2 82.5 86.7 87.1 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 81.7 85.3 85.0 87.3 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 79.3 81.7 86.8 87.1 
			 815 North Yorkshire 83.7 83.8 86.8 87.3 
			 816 York 83.2 84.3 85.3 87.0 
			 820 Bedfordshire 83.9 85.0 85.1 87.3 
			 821 Luton 81.4 84.5 85.8 87.2 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 79.5 80.5 85.1 85.4 
			 826 Milton Keynes 83.0 83.6 85.3 87.0 
			 830 Derbyshire 84.3 85.5 85.6 86.2 
			 831 Derby 80.2 83.0 85.2 87.6 
			 835 Dorset 79.9 80.2 86.6 86.9 
			 836 Poole 84.5 85.9 87.5 89.5 
			 837 Bournemouth 83.3 85.0 88.0 87.0 
			 840 Durham 80.7 82.3 87.4 86.9 
			 841 Darlington 82.1 82.6 86.6 85.9 
			 845 East Sussex 80.3 81.9 86.9 87.1 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 79.7 81.0 87.3 87.7 
			 850 Hampshire 85.2 85.5 86.4 87.4 
			 851 Portsmouth 86.0 86.3 86.4 87.1 
			 852 Southampton 83.6 86.1 86.9 87.6 
			 855 Leicestershire 83.3 84.2 85.0 84.7 
			 856 Leicester 79.3 80.6 85.1 86.4 
			 857 Rutland 84.4 84.4 86.7 87.1 
			 860 Staffordshire 86.1 84.9 85.3 88.0 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 82.1 85.9 88.3 87.0 
			 865 Wiltshire 83.5 83.8 86.1 86.0 
			 866 Swindon 83.2 85.4 86.7 86.3 
			 867 Bracknell Forest 80.0 82.3 85.1 86.0 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 81.9 83.7 85.3 87.0 
			 869 West Berkshire 84.3 86.5 88.7 87.7 
			 870 Reading 80.9 84.3 85.0 86.6 
			 871 Slough 85.5 86.7 87.9 87.7 
			 872 Wokingham 82.7 84.1 86.1 85.4 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 75.8 81.7 86.5 87.1 
			 874 Peterborough 78.1 86.0 88.1 87.5 
			 875 Cheshire 84.4 84.4 86.1 87.2 
			 876 Halton 81.2 86.7 88.4 87.1 
			 877 Warrington 84.8 86.4 87.0 87.8 
			 878 Devon 81.2 80.5 87.6 87.1 
			 879 Plymouth 82.6 83.8 87.4 87.6 
			 880 Torbay 79.4 81.5 85.0 86.6 
			 881 Essex 83.5 84.4 86.2 87.1 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 88.4 89.8 90.3 89.6 
			 883 Thurrock 81.9 83.8 84.8 87.3 
			 884 Herefordshire 78.7 81.2 85.1 86.1 
			 885 Worcestershire 81.2 83.2 83.7 86.6 
			 886 Kent 81.3 83.2 85.3 87.3 
			 887 Medway 82.0 84.7 86.2 88.4 
			 888 Lancashire 80.5 81.4 85.4 87.2 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 78.0 82.6 85.7 87.1 
			 890 Blackpool 79.1 81.5 85.6 85.6 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 86.0 86.0 85.4 88.2 
			 892 Nottingham 83.9 83.8 85.0 87.0 
			 893 Shropshire 81.4 83.5 87.6 87.0 
			 894 Telford & Wrekin 81.5 84.1 85.1 87.1 
			 908 Cornwall 79.6 79.8 85.8 86.3 
			 909 Cumbria 83.9 85.6 87.8 87.1 
			 916 Gloucestershire 83.4 84.2 85.2 85.4 
			 919 Hertfordshire 83.6 84.7 86.0 87.7 
			 921 Isle of Wight 76.8 83.1 86.2 87.1 
			 925 Lincolnshire 83.7 87.9 90.3 89.3 
			 926 Norfolk 84.5 85.0 87.1 87.0 
			 928 Northamptonshire 86.5 87.2 89.0 87.7 
			 929 Northumberland 81.4 81.3 88.3 88.0 
			 931 Oxfordshire 84.1 84.6 85.4 87.1 
			 933 Somerset 84.6 84.8 85.8 85.4 
			 935 Suffolk 85.6 85.4 86.8 89.1 
			 936 Surrey 82.0 83.8 86.3 87.0 
			 937 Warwickshire 82.1 85.3 86.9 87.3 
			 938 West Sussex 83.5 83.4 87.3 87.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures shown in the table have previously been published as part of the Department's Comparative Tables and reflect the methods of calculation underlying the comparative tables for each year. This means that they incorporate various adjustments which were made in some or all of these years. For the years 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03, the published comparative tables included information on the level of financial delegation direct to schools by LEAs. The measurement of these levels of delegation were associated with the achievement of delegation targets by LEAs. For each of those years, the average level of delegation stood at 82.4 per cent., 84 per cent., 86.3 per cent. and 87.2 per cent. respectively. The corresponding percentage for 1997–98 was about 79 per cent.
	2. The Department does not hold any comparable data for 2003–04. With the Education Act 2002 came the introduction of separate LEA and schools budgets, the establishment of schools forums and the introduction of a reserve power which enables the Secretary of State, in exceptional cases, to set a minimum level for an LEA's local schools budget. As a result, Ministers decided not to set delegation targets of the kind which had operated since 1999.
	3. Only about one-tenth of the funding retained centrally by LEAs relates to "central administration". Most of it relates to such items as school transport (about one-fifth of the total retained centrally); special educational needs (SEN); out-of-school education and behaviour support; and school improvement.

Divorce

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were affected by divorce in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	The Office for National Statistics publishes annual figures for the number of children of divorcing couples in England and Wales. The total number of children involved for the last two years for which figures are available are as follows:
	2001—146,914
	2002—149,335

Early-years Funding

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in each local education authority area received early years funding in the current financial year; and what the total funding made available in the current financial year under the programme is in each local education authority area.

David Miliband: The Department does not fund schools directly. Local education authorities receive funding through revenue support grant through the calculation of Education Formula Spending Shares for early years provision. The under-five sub-block in the Education Formula Spending Share calculation for 2003–04 was £2.6 billion. However, this funding is unhypothecated and it is for LEAs to decide how much to spend on early years and then allocate resources to schools and other early years settings as appropriate. The Department does not collect allocated budgets for every early year provider.
	The Department also provides direct grants specifically for early years programmes. MNS development grant is aimed specifically at the maintained sector. The number of schools benefiting and the amount allocated for each LEA is shown below.
	
		£
		
			 LEA Number of schools Amount of funding allocated 
		
		
			 Barnet 4 55,172 
			 Barnsley 2 23,215 
			 Bedfordshire 7 74,150 
			 Birmingham 25 204,633 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 9 77,239 
			 Bolton 5 50,208 
			 Bradford 6 54,096 
			 Brent 4 26,457 
			 Brighton and Hove 2 23,459 
			 Bristol, City of 15 161,412 
			 Buckinghamshire 4 37,833 
			 Bury 1 14,150 
			 Cambridgeshire 6 55,899 
			 Camden 1 15,786 
			 Cheshire 2 26,242 
			 Cornwall 2 19,367 
			 Coventry 1 19,772 
			 Croydon 6 56,458 
			 Cumbria 7 64,458 
			 Darlington 6 73,866 
			 Derby 9 65,837 
			 Derbyshire 8 73,890 
			 Devon 1 14,911 
			 Dudley 1 15,170 
			 Durham 15 129,919 
			 Ealing 5 42,732 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 4 50,981 
			 Essex 2 34,373 
			 Gateshead 1 13,229 
			 Greenwich 6 58,947 
			 Hackney 2 20,474 
			 Halton 4 42,764 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5 52,773 
			 Hampshire 3 27,557 
			 Haringey 3 30,324 
			 Hartlepool 1 13,440 
			 Hertfordshire 17 166,387 
			 Hillingdon 1 18,363 
			 Islington 3 31,376 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4 28,421 
			 Kent 1 14,997 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 3 35,139 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1 17,761 
			 Kirklees 3 39,823 
			 Lambeth 5 48,049 
			 Lancashire 30 260,771 
			 Leicester 1 11,559 
			 Leicestershire 1 12,575 
			 Lewisham 2 28,080 
			 Lincolnshire 5 53,656 
			 Liverpool 6 49,282 
			 Luton 6 76,067 
			 Manchester 2 16,972 
			 Milton Keynes 2 20,187 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 7 58,321 
			 Newham 8 93,567 
			 Norfolk 4 42,662 
			 North East Lincolnshire 3 37,009 
			 North Tyneside 2 22,725 
			 North Yorkshire 3 30,481 
			 Northamptonshire 8 69,887 
			 Northumberland 1 14,911 
			 Nottingham 4 33,162 
			 Nottinghamshire 2 27,211 
			 Oxfordshire 15 102,601 
			 Peterborough 1 22,090 
			 Plymouth 2 22,189 
			 Portsmouth 1 15,862 
			 Reading 5 56,025 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1 12,921 
			 Rochdale 8 84,765 
			 Rotherham 3 40,766 
			 Salford 13 73,072 
			 Sefton 4 35,400 
			 Sheffield 5 64,889 
			 Slough 5 69,925 
			 South Tyneside 6 41,811 
			 Southampton 1 17,765 
			 Southwark 5 54,963 
			 St. Helens 2 23,474 
			 Staffordshire 9 85,024 
			 Stockport 9 69,917 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 11 69,032 
			 Suffolk 1 17,246 
			 Sunderland 10 77,213 
			 Surrey 5 44,608 
			 Sutton 2 24,549 
			 Tameside 3 27,972 
			 Telford and Wrekin 2 21,312 
			 Tower Hamlets 7 70,166 
			 Wakefield 5 44,749 
			 Walsall 8 74,114 
			 Waltham Forest 4 36,406 
			 Wandsworth 3 26,740 
			 Warrington 1 18,025 
			 Warwickshire 9 70,492 
			 West Berkshire 2 24,557 
			 West Sussex 4 44,263 
			 Westminster 3 25,036 
			 Wigan 2 27,194 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 4 39,072 
			 Wirral 3 33,044 
			 Wokingham 1 21,658 
			 Wolverhampton 8 60,931 
			 Worcestershire 1 12,575 
			 York 1 17,592 
			  515 5,002,587

Family Mediation

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many family disputes involving contact with children have received government funding for mediation in each of the last six years.

Margaret Hodge: The Government encourages the use of family mediation as an alternative to court proceedings in appropriate cases. Mediation can be particularly beneficial in resolving disputes over child contact. Public funding for family mediation was introduced under the provisions of Part III of the Family Law Act 1996. The Legal Services Commission began contracting with mediation services for the provision of publicly funded family mediation in March 1997. Contracts were completed in all areas in March 2000 and publicly funded family mediation is now available throughout England and Wales.
	The Legal Services Commission has reported that the numbers of cases for which public funding has been provided for family mediation since the introduction of the provisions of the Family Law Act where children issues were in dispute are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997–1998 318 
			 1998–1999 1056 
			 1999–2000 4959 
			 2000–2001 7288 
			 2001–2002 9658 
			 2002–2003 10,383

Food in Schools Programme

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost to public funds of the Food in Schools Programme has been.

Stephen Twigg: Food in Schools is a joint Department for Education and Skills (DfES)/Department of Health (DH) programme. Funding for the DfES strand of Food in Schools (April 2001—March 2004) is £545,000, while the DH strand has been allocated £2 million (April 2001—February 2005). Food in Schools aims to bring together all food related activities in schools, including training for teachers, and to help them work towards the National Healthy Schools Standard.

Food Technologists

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations have been made to him on shortages of food technologists in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: I am aware of no such representations. We maintain regular contact with the Design and Technology Association (DATA), the professional association for food technology teachers. We work with them and other partners to offer training, support and guidance to teachers of food technology in both primary and secondary schools.

Foster Care

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) others regarding allowances for children in foster care; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Through the Choice Protects Programme and the consultation on the 'Supporting foster carers' section of the Green Paper, 'Every Child Matters' we are consulting widely with a range of stakeholders about support for foster carers. Choice Protects is also investing £113 million over three years to expand and strengthen fostering services.
	The National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services state that fostering services must provide foster carers with an allowance and agreed expenses, which cover the full cost of caring for each child placed with them.
	The financial implications of the Green Paper will be considered as part of the Government's 2004 Spending Review.

Give as You Earn Scheme

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of staff in his Department contribute to a charity through the Give as You Earn scheme; how much money is donated to charity per month by staff in his Department through the scheme; and what steps he is taking to encourage greater participation in the scheme by staff in his Department.

Charles Clarke: My Department actively supports and encourages payroll giving. Along with volunteering and charitable donations, staff can choose up to eight charities to make regular donations through the payroll system. There are currently 266 (5.7 per cent.) of my staff participating in the Payroll Giving Scheme raising a total of £27,023 per annum.
	We are working with the Giving Campaign to increase the number of contributing employees to around 10 per cent. Employees often choose to give direct or volunteer their time to charities of their choice so Payroll Giving does not fully reflect the amount of charitable activity within my Department.

Hampshire Local Education Authority

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) the Education Formula Spending Share for 2003–04, (b) the adjusted EFSS for 2003–04 used as part of the 2004–05 local government settlement, (c) the raw educational spending share for 2004–05 before the floors and ceilings and (d) the educational formula spending share for 2004–05 after floors and ceilings are for Hampshire Local Education Authority.

David Miliband: The figures are provided in the table.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2003–04 EFSS 580.127 
			 2003–04 adjusted EFSS 582.313 
			 2004–05 EFSS before floors and ceiling 587.937 
			 2004–05 EFSS after floors and ceilings 606.795

Key Stage 3 Tests

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many pupils have taken Key Stage 3 tests early as a result of the Express Sets initiative referred to in the Green Paper, "Schools: Building on Success"; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the progress achieved in securing increases in the extent of setting within subjects as set out in paragraph 4.33 of the Green Paper "Schools: Building on Success".

David Miliband: For 2003 and previous years there has been no readily available means of identifying pupils who took individual subjects or all three Key Stage 3 tests early. However, from 2004 onwards it will be possible to identify these pupils and allow evaluation of any projects encouraging the implementation of a shorter Key Stage 3.
	Data from lessons observed by Ofsted shows that there has been overall increase in setting at Key Stage 3 from 32 per cent. in 1998/99 to 36 per cent. in 2001/02. Setting has also increased within subjects at Key Stage 3 over the same period, although the extent of the increases varies from subject to subject.
	It is not possible for the Department to determine readily whether schools' decisions to enter their pupils for the Key Stage 3 tests early, or increases in the use of setting, have been influenced by national or local initiatives or which of those may have been contributing factors. It is for schools to make decisions about early test entry and whether and how to use pupil grouping to best meet the learning needs of their pupils, although through the Primary and Key Stage 3 Strategies and in our Gifted and Talented programme we will continue to offer guidance and support on classroom practice. We are also exploring through a small project different models for a shorter Key Stage 3, designed to promote pupil motivation, engagement and progression, and to open up curricular flexibilities pre and post-14 through completion of the Key Stage 3 programme of study in two years.

"Making Contact Work"

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will publish the Government's response to the report, "Making Contact Work"; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The Children Act Sub-Committee published their report, "Making Contact Work", in February 2002. The then Lord Chancellor's Department published its interim response in August 2002. Following the Machinery of Government changes last year, I now have lead responsibility for child contact issues. We continue to view children's interests as being paramount and we want to encourage contact between children and non-resident parents where it is in the best interest of the child and safe for all family members.
	Working with my hon. Friends in the Department for Constitutional Affairs, we are considering carefully how the family justice system and related children's services can better meet the needs of all children and their parents following relationship breakdown. We want to ensure that better outcomes are achieved for children by, where possible, helping parents agree contact arrangements without the intervention of the courts. We expect to conclude these considerations early in the New Year and that the Government's response to "Making Contact Work" will then be published.

Music Teaching

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the average school budget is for musical instruments in each local education authority in England;
	(2)  how many children in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools do not have access to music lessons in school outside the National Curriculum;
	(3)  what progress the Government have made in extending music opportunities in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools since 1997;
	(4)  how many children in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools do not have access to a musical instrument.

David Miliband: holding answer 5 January 2004
	The Government do not determine how much each school or LEA spends on musical instruments, nor do we collect information on how many children have access to a musical instrument.
	Since 1999, every local education authority has received Music Standards Fund (MSF) which can be spent in any way that enhances opportunities for pupils to access musical education of high quality. In the vast majority of authorities, this will include specialist instrumental tuition outside of the National Curriculum. According to a recent Survey of LEA Music Services 1 commissioned by DfES, at any moment in time, on average 8 per cent. of pupils will be receiving regular instrumental lessons through their LEA, although many more will be learning music in the classroom or in their own time.
	The introduction of MSF in 1999 to protect and expand LEA Music Services has caused a major upturn in music provision. Between 1999 and 2004, some £270 million will have gone to LEA Music Services.
	In addition, we have pledged that, over time, all primary school pupils who want to should have an opportunity to learn a musical instrument. Ofsted are currently evaluating 12 pilots which aim to model how specialist instrumental tuition can be integrated with classroom music teaching. The results of the evaluation will be published later this year.
	1 Research Report No. 478, 30 October 2003. Survey of Local Education Authorities' Music Services. 2002. Sue Hallam and Lynne Rogers, Institute of Education, University of London.

Numeracy and Literacy Targets

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which of the Government's (a) numeracy and (b) literacy targets for 11 year olds were missed in 2002.

Stephen Twigg: The 2002 Key Stage 2 targets for 80 per cent. of 11 year olds to reach level 4+ in English and 75 per cent. of 11 year olds to reach level 4+ in mathematics were set in 1997. The results from the 2002 National Curriculum tests showed that 75 per cent. of 11 year olds reached this level in English and 73 per cent. in mathematics. Results were maintained at that level in 2003.
	These results represent a significant improvement—of 12 percentage points in English and 11 percentage points in mathematics—in standards since 1997, reflecting the impact of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies on primary schools. We remain absolutely committed, through our new Primary Strategy, to supporting schools to achieve the ambitious targets we have set for standards of literacy and numeracy.

Numeracy and Literacy Targets

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of 11-year-olds have reached the required standard in (a) English and (b) numeracy in each year since the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy, broken down by local education authority.

Stephen Twigg: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

Numeracy and Literacy Targets

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding has been provided to implement the Government's (a) numeracy and (b) literacy strategies in each year since 1998.

Stephen Twigg: The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, which started in 1998 and 1999 respectively, have transformed standards of attainment in primary schools. The total funding available (including matched funding) to local education authorities in England through the Standards Fund to support the implementation of the strategies in each financial year since 1998–99 was as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			  National Literacy Strategy National Numeracy Strategy 
		
		
			 1998–99 62.7 — 
			 1999–2000 72.8 73.8 
			 2000–01 84.5 95.2 
			 2001–02 102.6 103 
			 2002–03 101.2 101.2 
			 2003–04 107.4 107.4

Pathfinder Project (School Work Force)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools participated in the Pathfinder Transforming the School Workforce project in 2003–04; what the total value of that support was; and what financial support will be given to these schools in 2004–05.

David Miliband: 32 schools participated in the Transforming the School Workforce Pathfinder project that ran during the academic year 2002/03. In total, some £1 million was allocated to the schools in the financial year 2003–04. The Pathfinder project has now come to an end—a full evaluation will be published in the new year. No additional funding will be allocated to the Pathfinder schools in 2004–05.

Pathfinder Project (School Work Force)

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, columns 287–88W, on Pathfinder projects, if he will publish the table to which the answer refers.

David Miliband: The information requested is shown in the following tables, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries.
	
		Department for Education and Skills pathfinder projects 2003–04
		
			 Local education authority Number of schools Total funding 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 15 150,280 
			 Barnet 7 38,000 
			 Barnsley 4 29,709 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 4 62,840 
			 Bedfordshire n/a 162,460 
			 Bexley 1 8,500 
			 Birmingham 134 494,152 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 5 25,000 
			 Bradford 12 90,000 
			 Brent 4 38,300 
			 Brighton and Hove 50 140,380 
			 Bristol, City of 2 25,000 
			 Bromley 8 43,880 
			 Buckinghamshire 4 21,340 
			 Bury 30 65,460 
			 Calderdale 34 32,900 
			 Cambridgeshire 6 31,440 
			 Camden 1 5,300 
			 Cheshire 2 40,790 
			 Cornwall 13 51,700 
			 Coventry 59 725,720 
			 Croydon 8 50,000 
			 Cumbria 14 659,860 
			 Darlington 2 57,980 
			 Derby, City of 2 466,755 
			 Derbyshire 3 718,162 
			 Doncaster 2 86,900 
			 Dorset 1 8,500 
			 Dudley 3 258,703 
			 Durham 1 225,806 
			 Ealing 1 75,000 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 115 137,705 
			 East Sussex 2 31,400 
			 Enfield 59 182,476 
			 Essex 21 338,972 
			 Gateshead n/a 420,980 
			 Gloucestershire 5 73,814 
			 Greenwich 2 33,548 
			 Hackney 9 185,000 
			 Halton 10 100,000 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 9 250,848 
			 Hampshire 76 227,657 
			 Haringey 5 30,000 
			 Harrow 1 315,919 
			 Herefordshire 1 17,285 
			 Hertfordshire 79 672,937 
			 Hounslow 15 67,720 
			 Isle of Wight 1 2,300 
			 Islington n/a 250,938 
			 Kent 520 367,476 
			 Kingston upon Hull, City of 5 118,430 
			 Kirklees 8 55,000 
			 Knowlsey 45 1,133,605 
			 Lambeth 2 64,186 
			 Lancashire 75 194,950 
			 Leeds 3 18,375 
			 Leicestershire 3 58,500 
			 Lewisham 2 503,950 
			 Lincolnshire 9 457,085 
			 Liverpool 76 263,542 
			 Manchester 3 351,296 
			 Medway 1 1,750 
			 Merton 3 22,000 
			 Middlesbrough 1 5,000 
			 Newham 15 388,300 
			 Norfolk 92 444,950 
			 North Lincolnshire n/a 484,085 
			 North Somerset 6 8,500 
			 North Tyneside 137 346,082 
			 North Yorkshire 1 17,000 
			 Northamptonshire 2 63,845 
			 Northumberland 4 8,500 
			 Nottingham City of 9 444,500 
			 Nottinghamshire 71 705,161 
			 Oldham 44 878,045 
			 Oxfordshire 3 87,303 
			 Peterborough, City of 1 143,000 
			 Plymouth, City of 7 435,327 
			 Portsmouth 10 90,750 
			 Redbridge 4 63,400 
			 Richmond upon Thames 32 70,349 
			 Rotherham 2 11,065 
			 Salford 1 5,834 
			 Sandwell n/a 182,048 
			 Sefton 1 31,340 
			 Sheffield 43 286,180 
			 Shropshire 4 806,483 
			 Slough 2 38,770 
			 Solihull 2 66,800 
			 Somerset 7 405,406 
			 South Gloucestershire n/a 691,639 
			 South Tyneside 16 168,000 
			 Southampton n/a 395,200 
			 Southend 2 20,792 
			 Southwark 3 291,352 
			 St. Helens 1 41,000 
			 Staffordshire 3 46,587 
			 Stockport n/a 330,419 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 3 530,574 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 1 12,000 
			 Suffolk 6 174,475 
			 Surrey 2 56,586 
			 Tower Hamlets 3 382,754 
			 Trafford 1 15,000 
			 Wakefield 4 412,500 
			 Walsall 1 202,048 
			 Wandsworth 1 16,010 
			 Warrington 3 185,299 
			 Warwickshire 6 915,194 
			 West Sussex 4 64,542 
			 Westminster, City of 3 587,528 
			 Wigan 1 25,000 
			 Wiltshire 10 82,232 
			 Wokingham 12 26,000 
			 Wolverhampton n/a 881,564 
			 Worcestershire 25 42,500 
			 York 5 299,500 
			 England 2,214 25,254,779 
		
	
	n/a = Funding will be shown for this project but 'n/a' for the number of schools.
	Notes:
	1. Schools may be involved in more than one project, as a result some schools may be counted more than once.
	2. The number of institutions involved in the 14–19 Pathfinders are not held centrally.

Pathfinder Project (School Work Force)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the Pathfinder project, Transforming the School Workforce, and its benefits for people in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.

David Miliband: The implementation of the National Agreement on Raising Standards and Tackling Workload will benefit teachers, support staff and, most importantly, pupils. The experience of the Pathfinder schools has demonstrated what can be achieved through workforce reform and how those changes can best be managed at school level. The lessons learned from the project will help schools across the country to make the best use of their resources and to free teachers to focus on teaching and learning. A full evaluation of the project will be published in the new year.

Pre-school Places

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time child care places in nursery and childminding settings Ofsted has (i) registered and (ii) inspected for children under the age of three over the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for the Office of Education and Standards (Ofsted) and Her Majesty's Chief Inspector will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries. Ofsted has been responsible for the registration and inspection of children's day care facilities since September 2001.

Pupil Exclusions

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children aged (a) between four and 11, (b) between 12 and 16 and (c) between 16 and 18 have been excluded from school in (i) St. Helens and (ii) Merseyside in (A) 2001, (B) 2002 and (C) 2003.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is given for the following ages: four to 11, 12 to 15 and 16 to 18.
	
		Maintained primary, secondary and all special schools: Number of excluded pupils by age group—1999/2000 to 2001/02 (Estimates)(2)
		
			  1999/2000 2000/01(2) 2001/02(2) 
		
		
			 St. Helens LEA
			 Pupils aged(4):
			 4 to 11 2 0 1 
			 12 to 15 25 10 16 
			 16 to 18 0 0 0 
			 Total(5) 28 10 17 
			 
			 Merseyside(3)
			 Pupils aged(4):
			 4 to 11 59 65 57 
			 12 to 15 251 154 161 
			 16 to 18 2 3 0 
			 Total(5) 312 222 218 
		
	
	(2) Estimates have been made for 2000/01 and 2001/02 due to incomplete school level returns.
	(3) Includes Knowsley, Liverpool, St. Helens, Sefton and Wirral LEAs.
	(4) Age as at 31 August at start of reference year.
	(5) Total number of excluded pupils.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census
	Latest information on exclusions refers to the school year 2001/02.

School Finance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much each component of the school formula spending share per pupil for (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils was in each local education authority in (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05.

David Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.

School Premises (Arson Attacks)

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures the Government will put in place to tackle arson attacks on school premises in the next three years.

David Miliband: The Department takes the problem of arson in schools very seriously and in 2000 issued the guide Fire Safety, which includes advice on how to reduce the risks of arson attacks. This complements our guidance on reducing crime in schools, such as the booklet "Improving Security in Schools" and the video "Can You See What They See?" We also have a school security website that is regularly updated—www.dfes. gov.uk/schoolsecurity. We now have consultants working on a new, and more comprehensive fire safety guidance document for schools. It covers risk assessments and will include advice on security and the prevention of arson. We anticipate that the document will be subject to public consultation early in 2004.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has general responsibility for fire safety and arson and we have been looking at how the two departments can work more closely on the issue of fire safety in schools. ODPM officials now attend the Department's Working Group on School Security, while we have recently accepted an invitation to send a representative to meetings of the Arson Control Forum, which remains the national strategic body for addressing the wider arson problem. This should help us to consider how best to promote school arson prevention initiatives among schools and local education authorities.
	Officials from my Department also sit on the Arson in Schools Working Group, a group of experts representing the insurance industry, the fire and police services, local authorities and government departments. One of its outputs has been the publication of the guide "How to Combat Arson in Schools", which is available free and has been well received by schools.
	Of course if a fire should happen in a school, the Department's primary concern is for the safety of pupils, teachers and other users. Regulation 17 of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 requires that every part of a school building, and of the land provided for a school, shall be such that the safe escape of the occupants in case of fire is reasonably assured. Schools are also covered by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and by subsequent related regulations. These include aspects of fire safety.

School Transport

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the draft bill on school transport will be published; what its principal provisions will be; what assessment has been made of the impact it will have on policies relating to transport to denominational schools of pupils of that denomination; what assessment has been made of the financial implications of the bill for (a) parents, (b) schools and (c) local education authorities; what assessment has been made of the effect it will have on the current providers of school transport; whether any of the proposed changes will take place on a pilot basis; and what consultations have been undertaken by the Department.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 8 December 2003
	In September 2003 the Secretary of State for Transport and I published 'Travelling to School: an action plan'. It consulted on measures to cut congestion and pollution and promote healthier travel alternatives for pupils travelling to and from school, including plans for piloting new arrangements for school transport in a small number of exemplar authorities.
	The draft school transport bill will invite local education authorities to run up to 12 pilot schemes providing flexible, safe, transport choices for pupils and parents. Pilot areas will be required to look at the needs of all pupils, not just those entitled to free transport, and pilots should reduce car use on the school run. We would particularly welcome bids that seek to support pupils travelling to denominational schools.
	We will publish a draft regulatory impact assessment alongside the draft bill: it will consider the financial implications for parents, schools, local education authorities and current providers of home to school transport. Whilst precise financial assessments can not be made until we know what proposals are put forward the financial implications will be considered as part of the selection and subsequent evaluation of pilot areas.
	We consulted on outline proposals in "Travelling to School: an action plan" and will consult on the draft bill and proposals for implementation in early 2004.

School Transport

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to ensure that free school transport is available to the children of families who wish to exercise a choice not to attend a faith school and who have to travel outside their catchment area.

Stephen Twigg: We have no plans to change the school transport legislation to require local education authorities (LEAs) to provide free school transport for pupils whose families wish to exercise a choice not to attend a faith school and who have to travel outside their catchment area. LEAs may choose to provide free or subsidised transport for pupils attending faith schools, or for pupils whose parents wish them not to attend a faith school, using their discretion to operate policies that meet the needs of their local communities.

Sex Education

Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what arrangements his Department has made to ensure co-ordination of the teenage sexual health strategy with the Department of Health's sexual health strategy;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure sex education teaching in schools takes full account of the Department of Health's teenage sexual health strategy.

Stephen Twigg: holding answer 5 January 2004
	The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy and the Sexual Health Strategy are closely co-ordinated to raise young people's awareness of sexual health issues, improve sexual health and promote choice. A shared feature of both strategies is the national campaign which targets young people, and improved availability of sexual health services and access to them.
	Teaching about sexual health and safer sex are key elements of the Government's sexual health strategy and are covered by our Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) Guidance which was sent to all schools in July 2000. Through SRE pupils learn about sexual health, contraception and the range of advice and support services which are available. Young people should be made aware of the risks of contracting a STI and know about prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Standards Fund

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in each local education authority area received Standards Fund allocations in the current financial year; and what the total funding made available in the current financial year under the programme is in each local education authority area.

David Miliband: The following table shows the number of schools in each local education authority in England in receipt of Standards Fund allocations, and the total funding made available under the programme in each authority. Allocation figures include Government grant and local education authority contributions.
	
		Standards Fund allocations by local education authority 2003–04
		
			 Local education authority Number of schools receiving devolved Standards Fund allocations(7) Recurrent grants(£ million) Capital grants(£ million) 
		
		
			 Barking 59 11.0 6.3 
			 Barnet 116 13.1 8.8 
			 Barnsley 100 12.7 8.9 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 86 5.4 6.3 
			 Bedfordshire 215 13.1 14.7 
			 Bexley 85 8.3 7.6 
			 Birmingham 425 74.1 36.8 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 73 12.8 5.9 
			 Blackpool 43 8.7 5.1 
			 Bolton 126 11.7 9.7 
			 Bournemouth 41 4.4 4.4 
			 Bracknell Forest 39 3.3 3.4 
			 Bradford 199 37.0 16.0 
			 Brent 79 16.5 7.5 
			 Brighton and Hove 73 7.8 6.0 
			 Bristol 148 18.1 13.5 
			 Bromley 102 9.4 9.2 
			 Buckinghamshire 233 17.5 18.0 
			 Bury 88 5.4 6.4 
			 Calderdale 105 9.1 7.6 
			 Cambridgeshire 245 15.3 18.4 
			 Camden 56 13.5 4.3 
			 Cheshire 349 19.9 21.2 
			 Cornwall 279 16.4 17.1 
			 Corporation of London 1 0.3 0.1 
			 Coventry 118 15.3 9.5 
			 Croydon 121 14.7 8.9 
			 Cumbria 336 20.0 18.1 
			 Darlington 42 4.3 4.3 
			 Derby City 99 11.0 8.5 
			 Derbyshire 416 22.9 29.4 
			 Devon 372 19.8 23.1 
			 Doncaster 134 18.5 13.4 
			 Dorset 184 11.0 11.9 
			 Dudley 111 10.8 11.4 
			 Durham 292 19.9 20.9 
			 Ealing 84 17.9 8.7 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 160 9.5 13.4 
			 East Sussex 194 14.3 14.9 
			 Enfield 89 16.7 11.4 
			 Essex 583 38.2 44.9 
			 Gateshead 91 13.1 6.0 
			 Gloucestershire 308 19.1 18.4 
			 Greenwich 84 17.8 7.5 
			 Hackney 69 17.7 8.8 
			 Halton 64 9.8 4.5 
			 Hammersmith & Fulham 49 10.9 4.0 
			 Hampshire 537 30.2 44.6 
			 Haringey 81 18.3 5.0 
			 Harrow 70 7.1 5.8 
			 Hartlepool 38 7.5 3.8 
			 Havering 86 7.9 8.3 
			 Herefordshire 102 6.7 5.5 
			 Hertfordshire 529 32.3 35.3 
			 Hillingdon 89 11.8 8.5 
			 Hounslow 79 14.9 8.2 
			 Isle of Wight 69 4.5 4.7 
			 Isles of Scilly 1 0.5 0.3 
			 Islington 59 14.0 6.5 
			 Kensington & Chelsea 32 7.6 2.0 
			 Kent 607 44.6 44.7 
			 Kingston Upon Thames 50 4.6 4.3 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull 97 15.6 9.4 
			 Kirklees 192 20.2 15.1 
			 Knowsley 77 14.0 5.6 
			 Lambeth 75 15.8 4.6 
			 Lancashire 613 43.9 37.3 
			 Leeds 294 40.9 25.1 
			 Leicester City 113 20.0 11.1 
			 Leicestershire 287 16.7 21.1 
			 Lewisham 89 17.0 7.8 
			 Lincolnshire 371 26.2 23.0 
			 Liverpool 195 33.6 13.7 
			 Luton 77 14.1 7.3 
			 Manchester 182 32.1 14.9 
			 Medway 113 9.0 9.2 
			 Merton 54 6.4 4.5 
			 Middlesbrough 60 10.7 6.3 
			 Milton Keynes 105 10.2 7.7 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 95 15.9 12.2 
			 Newham 84 23.4 10.3 
			 Norfolk 451 25.7 27.5 
			 North East Lincolnshire 0 8.1 8.3 
			 North Lincolnshire 86 7.1 5.8 
			 North Somerset 79 7.0 7.2 
			 North Tyneside 78 12.4 9.1 
			 North Yorkshire 387 19.3 21.3 
			 Northamptonshire 346 21.8 23.0 
			 Northumberland 211 11.7 12.6 
			 Nottingham City 123 18.4 12.1 
			 Nottinghamshire 367 22.9 27.3 
			 Oldham 118 16.4 9.1 
			 Oxfordshire 296 17.5 20.5 
			 Peterborough 77 9.0 9.4 
			 Plymouth 103 8.7 8.9 
			 Poole 42 4.2 4.3 
			 Portsmouth 69 7.7 5.8 
			 Reading 48 5.9 4.3 
			 Redbridge 73 10.3 7.8 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 65 9.8 5.6 
			 Richmond upon Thames 51 4.5 3.9 
			 Rochdale 96 14.5 8.2 
			 Rotherham 134 19.0 11.4 
			 Rutland 21 1.6 1.4 
			 Salford 103 14.3 7.7 
			 Sandwell 122 18.9 13.1 
			 Sefton 117 17.1 9.1 
			 Sheffield 185 29.1 19.3 
			 Shropshire 167 9.8 10.9 
			 Slough 42 7.6 4.0 
			 Solihull 86 9.8 6.9 
			 Somerset 272 15.7 25.0 
			 South Gloucestershire 115 7.7 9.6 
			 South Tyneside 70 11.2 5.6 
			 Southampton 84 7.8 6.7 
			 Southend-on-Sea 61 6.0 6.2 
			 Southwark 94 17.6 7.2 
			 St. Helens 73 11.8 5.4 
			 Staffordshire 403 23.6 28.2 
			 Stockport 121 9.6 10.4 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 80 13.8 7.1 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 102 15.6 9.5 
			 Suffolk 343 19.5 22.6 
			 Sunderland 116 18.0 10.5 
			 Surrey 403 22.9 26.6 
			 Sutton 60 5.8 5.4 
			 Swindon 82 6.3 6.9 
			 Tameside 101 10.0 7.5 
			 Telford and Wrekin 83 6.1 7.5 
			 Thurrock 63 7.5 4.9 
			 Torbay 44 4.2 3.9 
			 Tower Hamlets 93 26.6 7.8 
			 Trafford 97 8.0 8.2 
			 Wakefield 152 12.6 12.6 
			 Walsall 121 15.3 11.8 
			 Waltham Forest 91 17.2 8.0 
			 Wandsworth 77 14.9 8.1 
			 Warrington 86 6.6 6.1 
			 Warwickshire 245 17.1 22.6 
			 West Berkshire 80 5.4 5.9 
			 West Sussex 302 19.1 22.8 
			 Westminster 50 10.5 3.4 
			 Wigan 142 11.7 9.1 
			 Wiltshire 260 13.0 14.3 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 60 4.5 5.2 
			 Wirral 134 19.8 12.0 
			 Wokingham 63 4.4 6.4 
			 Wolverhampton 107 16.8 11.2 
			 Worcestershire 263 16.1 17.7 
			 York 69 5.7 6.1 
			 England Total 22,372 2,192.0 1,740.4 
		
	
	(6) Data on numbers of schools is taken from the 2003–04 Section 52 Budget Table 2
	(7) The number of schools receiving Devolved Standards Fund (DSF) is at the time of the budgets being set. This could be expected to rise once all unallocated devolved Standards Fund has been distributed.
	(8) The data is as reported by LEAs. As a result the blank entries are where LEAs have not entered any data.

Sure Start

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to expand Sure Start schemes.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 18 December 2003
	There will be 524 Sure Start local programmes by the beginning of 2004. Children's centres represent the next stage of the Government's plans to expand high quality integrated services in disadvantaged areas. Centres will develop largely from existing provision, including Sure Start local programmes, early excellence centres and neighbourhood nurseries. Children's centres will be initially developed in the 20 per cent. most disadvantaged wards in England. In the long term the Government aim to develop a children's centre in every community.

Sure Start

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have had access to Sure Start local programmes in England and Wales in each year since 1998; and how many are expected to have access to such programmes in 2004.

Margaret Hodge: The numbers of children aged 0 to 3 with access to Sure Start local programmes in England as at 31 March each year are shown in the table. All numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred. Sure Start in Wales is the responsibility of the devolved administration.
	
		
			  Number of children 
		
		
			 1999 0 
			 2000 41,700 
			 2001 116,600 
			 2002 200,500 
			 2003 350,600 
			 2004 (estimated) 411,900

Teachers (Assaults)

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many assaults there were against teachers by pupils in schools in the Eastern region; and what measures he is taking to prevent such attacks.

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many assaults have been recorded on (a) teachers and (b) other local authority education staff in Bedfordshire in (i) the last year for which figures are available and (ii) each of the previous five years.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 18 December 2003
	Serious injuries to primary and secondary teachers in Great Britain caused by physical violence reported to the Health and Safety Executive have been as follows:
	
		
			  Number of serious injuries 
		
		
			 1996/97 83 
			 1997/98 119 
			 1998/99 124 
			 1999/2000 135 
			 2000/01 135 
			 2001/02 110 
		
	
	These figures are not available by region or local authority. Data on less serious assaults are not available.
	We are investing nearly £470 million over the next three years in measures to improve behaviour and attendance in schools. These will include training for school staff in preventing violence. We have also made it clear that head teachers may permanently exclude pupils responsible for violence. New legislation in the Anti-social Behaviour Act will enable local education authorities to apply for court-imposed Parenting Orders for parents whose children have been excluded from school for serious misbehaviour. And we have issued "A legal toolkit for schools" which identifies legal remedies available when school staff experience problems with violent parents.

Voluntary Aided Schools

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent advice he has given to (a) diocesan boards of education and (b) local education authorities, regarding the budget for capital works available to voluntary aided schools in 2004/05; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 18 December 2003
	Officials will shortly be writing to all dioceses and local education authorities to confirm to them that final allocations of formulaic allocations for voluntary aided schools will take place in February 2004. Major allocations of capital grant from the Department's Targeted Capital Fund will be announced in January 2004 in the usual way.

Youth and Schools Councils

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action is being taken to promote and support youth and schools councils in the North East; and how many (a) exist and (b) receive departmental support.

Stephen Twigg: We encourage Connexions Partnerships and local authority Youth Services in all regions to promote the involvement of young people in local decision-making. We are aware of 15 youth councils in the North East. All receive indirect government support through Connexions Partnerships and Youth Services. Some Connexions Partnerships in the region are funding joint events with youth councils and one has dedicated £5,000 for the development of youth councils in three Districts. Youth Services are using some of their Transforming Youth Work Development Fund allocation to support the setting up of youth councils.
	The Citizenship programme of study encourages the active participation of young people in the democratic life of their school and the wider community. We do not keep records of the number of school councils by region and such information could not be obtained in the time available without placing an undue burden on schools. Many schools that have councils have found them to be effective ways of involving their pupils directly in decision-making. The Department has funded School Councils UK to produce primary and secondary school toolkits to enable teachers and students to set up effective structures for pupil participation.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in her Department are working solely on the BBC Charter review process.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 5 January 2004
	The Department will have a core team of five people working solely on Charter review. However there are many others in DCMS and other Government Departments contributing significant amounts of their time to what is a complex, crosscutting programme of work.

BBC

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that the BBC meets its requirements with regard to the independent productions quotas.

Estelle Morris: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently agreed amendments to the formal Agreement with the BBC to enable OFCOM to enforce the quotas from 29 December 2003, with the power to impose fines on the Corporation for failing to meet the quotas or require any deficit to be made up in the subsequent year or years.

BBC

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the BBC about the BBC Charter review process; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: My Department maintains regular contact with the BBC with frequent discussions on a wide range of issues including Charter review process.

Civil Servants (Disabilities)

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what targets the Department must meet in relation to the employment of people with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on her Department's progress in meeting these targets.

Richard Caborn: The Department has set aspirational targets for the representation of people with disabilities.
	
		
			  Target (%) Actual (%) 
		
		
			 At SCS 5 0 
			 Other grades 5 2.8 
		
	
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has set a target to have 5 per cent. of posts filled by people with disabilities by March 2005. Data on disability are collected on the basis of voluntary self-classification. There are currently no staff filling senior post who have declared a disability. At other grades, the percentage of staff declaring a disability has increased from 2.0 per cent. to 2.8 per cent. over the last 12 months.

Civil Servants (Disabilities)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in meeting targets for the proportion of people with disabilities in senior posts in her Department.

Richard Caborn: The Department collects data on disability on a voluntary self-declaration basis. There are currently no members of the Department's senor civil service declaring a disability.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by her Department on mobile phone calls (a) in the last year and (b) since 1997.

Richard Caborn: The cost to my Department of mobile phones supplied to ministers and officials was £25,500 in 2000–01, £21,000 in 2001–02, £29,000 in 2002–03 and £30,000 as of the start of January this year. It is not possible to provide figures prior to 2000 save at disproportionate cost.

Elgin Marbles

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the Government's policy on the Elgin Marbles.

Estelle Morris: The Government have stated that it considers the Parthenon Sculptures to be a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum, who are independent of government.

Food Advertising

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from (a) broadcasters, (b) food manufacturers, (c) advertisers and (d) pressure groups about the regulation of food advertising to children.

Estelle Morris: In May 2003 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport met representatives of several public health promotion organisations to discuss the regulation of broadcast food advertising to children and has also received correspondence from similar organisations. She also met representatives of the Advertising Association on 16 December about this issue. In addition, Ministers have received correspondence from the commercial broadcasting sector on this matter. The Secretary of State has not received any formal representations from the food and drink industry about the regulation of food advertising to children but is aware of the industry's views.

Food Advertising

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment the Government has made of whether food advertising contributes to child obesity.

Estelle Morris: The Department has a responsibility only in relation to broadcast advertising. It has made no separate assessment of the impact of food advertising on childhood obesity but will continue to participate in the Food Standards Agency's consultation on its recent review of the promotion of foods to children.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has also asked Ofcom to examine the adequacy of its codes regulating the content of broadcast advertising of food to children and Ofcom has indicated that it will make its own assessment of the evidence.
	The impact of food promotion must be considered in the context of the wide range of factors which may have an influence on the increase in childhood obesity, which the Government are addressing through a number of cross-departmental initiatives.

Human Remains (Repatriation)

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the Government's policy is on the repatriation of human remains.

Estelle Morris: The Government have recently published the Human Tissue Bill, which includes a clause giving certain national museums a power to move human remains out of their collection, where they wish to do so.
	This will implement the principal recommendation of the Working Group on Human remains. I shall be issuing a consultation document on the rest of the recommendations of the Working Group early in the new year. The results of that consultation will inform the Government's wider response to the Working Group Report.

IT Contracts

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list information technology contracts in her Department and its predecessors with a value of above £20 million in each of the last 10 years; what the inception date for each system was; when it became fully functional; when it became fully debugged; and what the cost of overruns has been.

Richard Caborn: My Department has never had an information technology contract to the value of £20 million since its creation in 1992.

Museums

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make an assessment of the impact of the Government's free admissions policy on museums that are not included in the policy.

Estelle Morris: There are a number of factors that influence museum attendances, and it would be difficult to isolate the specific impact of free admission. The Renaissance in the Regions programme complements the free admission policy by providing substantial support to regional museums. The early indications are that the Renaissance investment is already paying dividends, with a 40 per cent. increase in the number of schools visiting museums in Phase 1 of the programme, and a 74 per cent. increase in contacts between those museums and community groups.

Ofcom

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the readiness of Ofcom to assume regulatory duties on 29 December.

Estelle Morris: The Office of Communications (Ofcom) is well prepared to take on its regulatory functions and vesting took place as planned on 29 December 2003.

HEALTH

BCG Vaccination

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of medical professionals trained in the techniques necessary to administer the BCG vaccination.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 18 December 2003
	This data is not held centrally. Strategic health authorities are responsible for organising and delivering local immunisation programmes.

Delayed Discharges

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on delayed discharges in (a) the Craven, Harrogate and Rural District Primary Care Trust and (b) the Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust area.

Melanie Johnson: Service and Financial Framework returns for quarter two of 2003–04 show that there were 24 patients in the Craven, Harrogate and Rural District Primary Care Trust (PCT) area whose transfer of care had been delayed, and six in the Hambleton and Richmondshire PCT area. A copy of the report is available in the Library.
	Craven, Harrogate and Rural District PCT has agreed a strategy with all key stakeholders that aims to maintain people in their own homes where possible with support from a multi-disciplinary team. This will ultimately be available 24 hours a day, with access to diagnostics and secondary care as appropriate.
	Hambleton and Richmondshire PCT is working with North Yorkshire Social Services to develop interim care beds and alternatives to people waiting in the acute hospital.

Influenza Vaccination

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation of the number of at risk children who would benefit from the current influenza vaccination, broken down (a) by type of condition and (b) by age groups (i) 0 to four and (ii) five to 14 years.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 9 December 2003
	At their meeting on 10 November 2003, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation agreed that all children aged over six months in an at risk group should be offered flu vaccination.

Influenza Vaccination

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Department does not monitor the uptake of influenza vaccinations for children in at risk groups.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 9 December 2003
	I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave him on 16 December 2003, Official Report, columns 890–91W.

Hospital Acquired Infections

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what target he has set for reducing death and disablement from hospital acquired infections.

Melanie Johnson: No specific targets were set in the Chief Medical Officer's new action plan, "Winning Ways—Working together to reduce Healthcare Associated Infections", launched on 5 December 2003. We will monitor implementation through the national health service performance management system, strategic health authorities and the mandatory surveillance system.

Levonelle

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been conducted in teenage girls on the safety of an increase in the dosage of the emergency hormonal contraceptive Levonelle to a single dose of two tablets taken together.

Melanie Johnson: The dosing instructions for Levonelle (levonorgestrel 0.75mg) were revised recently to recommend that two tablets should be taken at the same time; previously one tablet was taken with the second tablet 12 hours later. There has been no increase in the dosage as the quantity of levonorgestrel ingested remains the same. This followed advice from the Committee on Safety of Medicines who were satisfied as to the safety and efficacy of this revised regimen and the likely improved compliance. The pivotal evidence in support of the change is a World Health Organisation sponsored study evaluating 4,136 women aged between 14 and 52 years (mean age 27 years) who attended family planning clinics requesting emergency contraception. In excess of 2,700 women were given levonorgestrel, and of these, 439 were teenage girls. Side-effects were minor and no significant difference in the proportion of women developing side-effects was noted between the women taking two levonorgestrel tablets at the same time and those who took them 12 hours apart. A copy of the publication has been placed in the Library.

Medicines (Advertising)

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many staff at the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency are employed to investigate breaches of the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994;
	(2)  what the outcomes were of the review of advertising activities carried out by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency earlier this year; which organisations and individuals were invited to contribute to this review; and how the report has been made publicly available;
	(3)  how many of the complaints investigated by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency were found to be in breach of the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003; for each of these years, how many of the complaints that were upheld related to advertisements targeted at (i) health professionals and (ii) the public; over how long on average the advertisements had been running before being withdrawn; and what sanctions were employed;
	(4)  what criteria are employed by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency in investigating complaints; and under what conditions pre-vetting of advertising material is carried out;
	(5)  what provisions have been made by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency to take on additional staff to pre-vet advertising material when medicinal products are switched from prescription-only to over-the-counter status;
	(6)  how many complaints were investigated in 2002–03 by the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency in response to complaints from (a) health professionals, (b) pharmaceutical companies and (c) the public;
	(7)  what self-regulatory controls are in place for medicine advertising and promotion; and when the Government last carried out a spot check to determine the effectiveness of the self-regulatory system;
	(8)  what mechanisms exist for independent scrutiny of the Medicines and Health Care Products Regulatory Agency activities in relation to its role to monitor and enforce regulations on pharmaceutical company advertising and promotion.

Melanie Johnson: The control of medicines advertising is based on a long established system of self regulation underpinned by the statutory role of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). There are two main industry self regulatory bodies, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) and Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB). Both operate codes of practice for advertising of medicines and systems for investigating complaints against their codes. Advertising by PAGB member companies aimed at the public is pre-vetted by the PAGB prior to publication. There are also general controls on non-broadcast and broadcast advertising operated by the Advertising Standards Authority and the Office of Communications.
	Investigation of complaints and routine scrutiny of published advertising for medicines, concentrating on newly licensed products, provide an ongoing check on the effectiveness of the self-regulatory systems for medicines advertising. The MHRA meets regularly with the regulatory and self regulatory bodies to discuss current issues in medicines advertising.
	The MHRA investigates all complaints received about advertising against the requirements set out in the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994. In 2002–03, 157 complaints about medicines advertising were investigated including 93 from health professionals, 16 from pharmaceutical companies and 48 from members of the public. The number of advertisements found to be in breach of the Regulations following investigation by the MHRA were 104 in 2001, 85 in 2002 and 108 in 2003. One quarter concerned advertisements aimed at health professionals and the remainder at the public. Information is not collected by the Agency on the length of time the advertisements had been running before being withdrawn.
	The primary sanction employed where advertising is considered to breach the Regulations is to require immediate withdrawal and amendment of the material. Additionally, in three cases in 2001, one in 2002 and five in 2003, all subsequent material was required to be submitted for pre-vetting. In 13 cases the company was required to issue a corrective statement, one in 2001, one in 2002 and 11 in 2003. One case was referred for enforcement action in 2001 and two in 2003. A public statement was also recently made on the outcome of three investigations into inducements to pharmacists.
	The MHRA has published criteria in Guidance Note 23—Advertising and Promotion of medicines in the UK (a copy of which is available in the Library) based on which it will consider requiring advertising material to be submitted for pre-vetting, including:
	(i) where a newly licensed product, subject to intensive monitoring, is placed on the market;
	(ii) where a product is reclassified, such as from prescription only medicine to pharmacy; or
	(iii) where previous advertising for a product has breached the Regulations.
	A recent internal MHRA review considered the procedures of the advertising unit in the regulation of advertising for medicines in the UK. It identified measures to increase and improve the targeting of pre-vetting, increase the use of corrective statements for misleading advertising, take rapid action on complaints prioritising those from health professionals and increase transparency by the publication of reports on completed actions on complaints. The outcome of the review was endorsed by the Medicines Commission and has been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. A copy of the report has also been placed in the Library.
	The MHRA employs four staff whose primary role is to regulate advertising for medicines, including investigation of breaches of the Medicines (Advertising) Regulations 1994. These staff draw on the wider resources of the MHRA to provide additional specialist advice on advertising casework as required. The MHRA anticipates that it will be able to manage any increase in the requirement for pre-vetting due to increases in reclassification from prescription only to over-the-counter status from within its existing resources.
	The National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee recently scrutinised the work of the MHRA, including its role in reviewing medicines advertising and promotion but did not make any recommendations in this area nor suggest any further review was necessary. The recent initiative to publish on the MHRA website the outcome of complaints investigations will increase the transparency of the MHRA's role in enforcing the regulations on advertising and promotion of medicines.

Screening Programmes

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in proactive screening programmes as a result of departmental awareness-raising schemes; what screening programmes are operating in each health authority area; and what action is being taken to increase screening in areas that are underspending in this area.

Melanie Johnson: The national breast and cervical screening programmes operate in each strategic health authority area. A number of other national screening programmes are currently being developed. These include screening for Down's syndrome where presently 75 per cent. of maternity units have a screening programme in place. 210,000 babies have been screened under the newborn hearing screening programme since it started. Newborn screening for sickle cell disease is in place in London and West Midlands. Raising public and professional awareness is a key aspect in the development of all screening programmes. Funding to implement screening programmes is mostly included in baseline financial allocations to primary care trusts. In keeping with the decision to enable local PCTs to decide their priorities in the light of their own needs, PCTs decide the allocation of resources locally.

Smoking

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to target smoking cessation activity on middle-aged women.

Melanie Johnson: The national health service Stop Smoking Services are available to all smokers regardless of age or gender.
	The tobacco information programme is designed to address all sections of the adult population and every opportunity is taken to obtain editorial coverage on the health pages of national newspapers and women's magazines.
	We are not aware of any specific reason to target "middle aged women" separately. Women aged 35–60 have lower smoking rates than men of the same age and lower than those of young women.

Tuberculosis

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of tuberculosis were reported in (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each year since 1996.

Melanie Johnson: This information is publicly available on the Health Protection Agency website at www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics az/tb/epidemiology/tables.htm

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the number of anti-social behaviour offences occurring over Halloween relative to other periods of the year.

Hazel Blears: No assessment has been made of the number of anti-social behaviour related offences occurring over Halloween, relative to other periods of the year.

Antisocial Behaviour

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been applied for in the Vale of York in each of the past three years.

Hazel Blears: The number of notifications received by the Home Office of applications for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) within the North Yorkshire Magistrates Courts Committee (MCC) area, which includes the Vale of York, up to 30 June 2003 (latest available) is given in the table. All of the applications have resulted in an ASBO being issued.
	
		The number of applications for ASBOs in North Yorkshire, as reported to the Home Office, from 1 June 2000(9) to 30 June 2003 (latest available)
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 0 
			 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 7 
			 1 January 2002 to 30 November 2002 0 
			 31 December 2002 to 30 June 2003 2 
			 Total 9 
		
	
	(9) From 1 April 1999 up to 31 May 2000 data collected by police force area (pfa).
	Note:
	Following implementation of the Police Reform Act (2 December 2002), data for December 2002 is incorporated into the first quarter 2003 data.

Asylum and Immigration

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many families are detained under asylum and immigration legislation; and for how long each has been detained.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 15 December 2003
	The latest available information shows that at the end of September 2003 1,575 people were detained solely under the Immigration Act, of whom 1,270 had sought asylum at some stage. Information on the number of these who were detained as part of a family group is unavailable.
	However, IND internal management information indicates that on 8 December 38 children were in detention. This information also indicates that the average time for which children are detained in UK removal centres is about 10 days. This figure is skewed somewhat due to some long-stay cases. In fact, the bulk of cases are dealt with in a short period. We are working hard to ensure that where children are detained this is for as short a time as possible and are implementing additional measures to ensure the welfare of detained families with children. These measures include requiring ministerial authority to detain any child for longer than 28 days and ensuring that there are no administrative delays which might extend their detention by giving oversight of all children in immigration detention to a senior Home Office official.

Crime Reduction Initiatives

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been invested, and how many schemes have received funding (a) in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East, (b) in the north-east and (c) in total under the Building Safer Communities initiative.

Hazel Blears: Under the Building Safer Communities Fund (BSC), the following allocations were made in 2003–04 to the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) covering the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency:
	Middlesbrough CDRP—£312,409 for 20 schemes
	Redcar and Cleveland CDRP—£168,331 for 13 schemes
	The North East total allocation for 2003–04 under BSC is £3,549,624.23 CDRP plans were approved and are operational across the region in the current financial year.
	Direct funding under BSC to CDRPs in England and Wales totals £72.3 million in 2003–04, involving 376 CDRP plans, each of which includes numerous projects and schemes.

Crime Reduction Initiatives

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken in (a) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East and (b) the north east to help crime and disorder reduction partnerships deliver crime reduction; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: A wide range of activities is taking place in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, and also in the north east as a whole, to help Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) deliver crime reduction. These are normally funded through Home Office programmes such as the Building Safer Communities Fund, Building Capacity Fund, and Basic Command Unit Fund.
	Examples of activities that draw on Home Office funds include, in the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East area, a dedicated drugs unit being introduced in the Redcar and Cleveland CDRP, and a 'Dealer a Day' initiative initiated by the police commander. This initiative has led to over 950 arrests and the recovery of substantial quantities of drugs, cash and stolen goods. In the East Cleveland area specifically, Home Office funding has led to CCTV schemes in Saltburn, Guisborough, Loftus, and Marske. In Middlesbrough, recent initiatives have included tackling burglaries in sheds, garages, and outbuildings, and tackling vehicle crime by focusing on 'at risk' groups and locations e.g. subsidised security devices, additional security patrols.
	In the north east as a whole, significant developments include the establishment of a multi-agency Regional Drugs Intelligence Unit at a cost of £500,000 over two years, funded by the Home Office Police Standards Unit, and the extension of intensive criminal justice intervention programmes to Newcastle, Sunderland, Hartlepool, and Stockton in addition to the existing programme in Middlesbrough.
	The Government Office for the north east provides advice, training and support to all the CDRPs in the region. They act as a conduit for sharing best practice between partnerships, for example, funding a seminar in Middlesbrough for CDRPs across the country with similar characteristics to Middlesbrough, to share common issues and solutions. They regularly attend CDRP meetings to offer advice and information on funding and good practice and to support performance improvement.
	The Home Office has introduced a self-assessment framework (SAF) for Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Drug Action Teams in England and Community Safety Partnerships in Wales to assist them to improve their performance as partnerships. The SAF is a useful tool to promote continuous improvement in both strategic and operational delivery of the crime reduction and misuse of drugs agendas.
	The Home Office are also updating the existing guidance for partnerships on audits and strategies in preparation for the next round of triennial audits which partnerships must produce by April 2005. This new web based step by step toolkit will be available on the Crime Reduction Website from February 2004.
	Key crime levels have fallen steadily in the north east in recent years. Between 1998–99 and 2002–03 vehicle crime has fallen by 23 per cent. and domestic burglary has fallen by 25 per cent.

Crime Reduction Initiatives

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken in (a) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East and (b) the north east (i) to reduce gun crime and (ii) to disrupt drugs markets; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: We are developing a strong programme to tackle gun crime on a number of fronts, including:
	tackling the links to drug supply and crime;
	reducing the supply and availability of firearms;
	effective police operations to drive down firearm offences;
	tough laws and effective enforcement;
	engaging the worst affected communities to address the underlying gun culture.
	In Middlesbrough, Cleveland police operate a dealer-a-day policy whereby they undertake to arrest at least one drugs dealer in the town every day, 365 days a year. It has recently completed its second year of operation and since its launch on 3 December 2001, 926 people have been arrested. Drugs including cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, amphetamine, and cannabis have been recovered with a street value of nearly £950,000. Officers also seized over £200,000 in cash during the raids. Prison sentences exceeding 200 years have been given by the courts, coupled with other forms of sentencing ranging from fines, community work and community rehabilitation, to suspended sentences, supervision orders and drug treatment and testing orders. In July the scheme was extended to cover East Cleveland in July 2003 and similar success is expected there.
	Regionally, with the support of Government Office North East, the Police Standards Unit has funded the establishment of a Regional Drugs Intelligence Unit based at Durham Constabulary which brings together analysts from the three north east police forces in one dedicated unit to improve intelligence led work to tackle middle market drug dealing across the region. Set up in October 2003, this unit's work will link in to other information and intelligence gathering initiatives already underway in the north east, including asset recovery.
	The north east, and the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East area in particular, experiences relatively low levels of gun crime. For this reason, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships prioritise actions on addressing drug crime, burglary and vehicle crime in these areas.
	We are taking action to tackle the misuse of air weapons. The Anti-Social Behaviour Act will:
	raise the age limit for owning air weapons from 14 to 17;
	restrict their use without adult supervision;
	ban the carrying of replicas or air weapons in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse; and
	ban the sale, manufacture and import of tandem cartridge air systems, such as the Brocock, and require the licensing of those already held as they are particularly vulnerable to conversion to fire live ammunition.

Crime Reduction Initiatives

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Government-funded schemes resulting in the installation of CCTV cameras have received crime and disorder reduction partnership funds in (a) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East and (b) the north east since 2001.

Hazel Blears: Under the Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative, two funding rounds were introduced.
	Six schemes were approved in Middlesbrough and six in the Redcar and Cleveland Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) areas.
	45 schemes in total were approved for the north east.

Crime Reduction Initiatives

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to strengthen co-ordination of local partnerships to ensure they are able to deliver the crime and drugs agenda in (a) Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East and (b) the north-east.

Hazel Blears: The Home Office and the Government Office in the North East Region (GONE), are working with Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) and Drug Action Teams (DATs) to ensure the further integration of their work. Guidance on integration was issued to CDRPs and DATs in November 2003. The aim is to simplify local working relationships, give greater recognition to common interests and provide the right framework to enable the effective delivery of the crime reduction and drugs agendas. The crime and drugs teams have been fully integrated within GONE since June 2002.
	Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland, which are both unitary authorities, are working towards integration of their CDRPs and DATs by April 2004. To support this process the Home Office has introduced a self-assessment framework (SAF), which will enable CDRPs and DATs to assess their performance as partnerships and will assist the GONE in managing the improvement in both their strategic and operational delivery.

Crime Reduction Initiatives

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on (a) improved information sharing between crime reduction partnerships and (b) the sharing of good practice techniques between police forces; and how such practices have benefited the residents of Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East.

Hazel Blears: Effective data exchange and analysis is a prerequisite of productive partnership working and crime reduction. Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) are encouraged to share information to tackle crime and criminality more effectively within their partnership.
	The Home Office Crime Reduction and Community Safety Group is working with the Government Offices in the regions to ensure effective information sharing and data analysis.
	The Government Office for the North East is working with every agency in the North East Region who are partners on CDRPs to enhance their data in order to facilitate information sharing, and has developed an IT solution, North East Region Information Sharing System (NERISS), to this end.
	Middlesbrough is being used as a pilot site for local data sharing on burglary dwelling to support problem solving and best practice experience nationally.
	The Government Office has also been carrying out a research project on Effective Practice and will compile a compendium of all of the initiatives of a crime and disorder nature in the Region. The findings will be published on the internet for use by all practitioners as a Best Practice library.
	One of the main roles of the Home Office Police Standards Unit (PSU) is to exchange good practice in order to support the improvement of police performance. The Unit has been working with the Cleveland Police Force on several projects to tackle issues such as burglary reduction with the 'Safer Tees Valley Partnership' to reduce repeat victimisation and the introduction of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) forcewide as a tool to improve the detection of all crime. The PSU are currently working with the National Centre for Policing Excellence among other partners to simplify the process of sharing good practice and provide greater access, preferably with a single point of contact.
	Government Agencies Information Network (GAIN) is a multi-agency group bringing together intelligence and investigation officers from enforcement agencies in central and local Government to share information for the purposes of crime reduction. The first Strategic Group Meeting of the Regional GAIN Board occurred this month and a range of issues is being progressed within the north-east.
	Improved information sharing in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East and across the north-east has allowed the effective targeting of a number of known criminals. This has contributed to significant reductions in burglary and vehicle crime in the area, especially in Middlesbrough, where burglary fell 22.9 per cent., thefts of motor vehicles fell 15.9 per cent. and thefts from motor vehicles fell 5.6 per cent. between 2001–02 and 2002–03. In Langbaurgh over the same period, burglary fell 20.7 per cent., though thefts of and from motor vehicles both rose.

Crime Reduction Initiatives

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on police community visibility schemes with particular reference to mobile police stations; and how he estimates such initiatives can reduce crime in the area covered by the Cleveland Police Force.

Hazel Blears: It is for the Chief Constable to decide how best to deploy available resources according to operational priorities and objectives.
	Cleveland Police is in the process of reviewing the accessibility of service to more rural areas of the force where mobile police stations may well be a solution. In addition the force is reviewing Community Policing models, in keeping with the Chief Constable's vision of 'Putting People First'. This vision of community policing aims to impact positively on public reassurance in terms of visibility of and accessibility, to officers by providing a minimum level of policing to all communities.This is in line with the National Policing Plan 2004–07 which sets as a key priority for the police service
	"Providing a citizen focused service to the public . . . which responds to the needs of individuals and communities and inspires confidence in the police . . .".

Driving Disqualifications

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people were disqualified from driving in the last five years;
	(2)  how many people were disqualified from driving since 2000 as a result of (a) drink-driving, (b) speeding and (c) dangerous or reckless driving.

Hazel Blears: Available information up to 2001, which has been taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database, is given in the tables. Information for 2002 will be available early in 2004.
	
		Table A: Number of persons disqualified(10) from driving at all courts for motoring offences, England and Wales, 1997–2001
		
			  Persons disqualified 
		
		
			 1997 171,100 
			 1998 159,500 
			 1999 170,500 
			 2000 168,900 
			 2001 177,200 
		
	
	(10) Includes persons disqualified under s 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (penalty points system).
	
		Table B: Number of persons disqualified from driving at all courts by offence group, England and Wales, 2000 and 2001
		
			 Offence group 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs(11) 75,200 74,500 
			 Speed limit offences(12) 11,000 10,800 
			 Dangerous driving(13) 3,700 3,700 
		
	
	(11) Offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 sec 4(1), 4(2), 5(1)(a), 5(1)(b), 6(4) and 777(6).
	(12) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regs 1973 and Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926-Byelaws made thereunder.
	(13) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 sec 2 as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991 sec 2. There is no specific offence of 'reckless driving'.

Immigration Offences (Employers)

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employers have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted in relation to an offence under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what penalties were imposed.

Beverley Hughes: The latest available information on the number of persons proceeded against and those found guilty under section 8 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1996, together with the penalties imposed, is shown in the table.
	
		Number of persons proceeded against and those found guilty of offences under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, England and Wales 1997 to 2002
		
			 Offencedescription/Statute Persons(14)proceeded against Number of offences involved Persons(14) found guilty Persons(14) fined Persons(14) not separately dealt with(15) 
		
		
			  Employing a person subject to immigration control who has attained the age of 16/Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 section 8 
			 1997(16) — — — — — 
			 1998(16) 1 1 1 — 1 
			 1999(16) 4 23 1 1 — 
			 2000(16) 10 32 4 4 — 
			 2001(16) 5 65 1 1 — 
			 2002 2 22 1 1 — 
		
	
	(14) Principal immigration offence basis.
	(15) Indicates that a substantive penalty has been imposed on a non-immigration offence dealt with at the same time.
	(16) Data have been revised since they were published in the command paper "Control of Immigration Statistics United Kingdom 2001".
	The Government have consulted publicly on proposals to strengthen the checks employers are required to carry out under section 8, with a view to improving compliance with and the enforcement of the legislation. The Government are currently considering possible measures in this area as part of their wider strategy on managed migration.
	In the long term, a national identity cards scheme will reduce the burden on legitimate employers who already check the immigration status of their employees by giving them an easily understood card to check. It will also assist in prosecuting unscrupulous employers who employ illegal workers for less than the minimum wage and undercut legitimate companies
	Information on those people proceeded against under the Immigration Acts was published on 27 November in the command paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2002" (Cm 6053), a copy of which can be found in the Library of the House.

Imutran Xenotransplantation Research

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters the Home Office has received regarding Imutran xenotransplantation research.

Caroline Flint: The Home Office computerised correspondence tracking system introduced in two stages during 2003 shows that as of 11 November 2003 we have received 228 letters from Members of Parliament about the Imutran xenotransplantation research since 30 January 2003 and 289 letters from members of the public since 25 May 2003. We have no reliable record of the number of letters received on this subject before the introduction of the computerised correspondence tracking system.
	I wrote to all Members of Parliament on 15 December 2003 answering the points raised in the latest letter sent by Uncaged Campaigns about the Imutran xenotransplantation research.

Imutran Xenotransplantation Research

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the latest findings of investigations into Imutran xenotransplantation research.

Caroline Flint: In November 2000, after carefully considering the arguments for an independent judicial inquiry into the matters raised in "Diaries of Despair", the Uncaged Campaigns report on the Imutran xenotransplantation research carried out at Huntingdon Life Sciences, the then Home Secretary (Jack Straw) asked the Chief Inspector of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate to examine the available evidence relating to compliance with the authorities granted to Imutran Limited under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. This compliance review was undertaken as part of the Inspectorate's routine statutory inspection and reporting function. The Chief Inspector's report was published on 13 July 2001 and is available on the Home Office website. Copies were also placed in the House Library.The Chief Inspector's review covered five years of work, involving many thousands of scientific procedures. The review took around 300 man-hours to complete and included scrutiny of all study documents, including material not available during the normal inspection process. The Chief Inspector's findings confirmed that the general level of compliance was good. He also identified five instances of non-compliance by the surgical team. Three of these were already known to the Home Office and were dealt with in 1997. Neither of the two new infringements merited prosecution and both were dealt with by issuing letters of admonition to those responsible.
	The Chief Inspector's review identified no new issues requiring further action or investigations and none have been carried out. However, all subsequent representations and evidence received by the Home Office regarding the Imutran research have been thoroughly and carefully considered and full answers have been provided to them. This includes additional papers published in 2003 by Uncaged Campaigns on its website. All of these papers, and more, were available when the chief inspector carried out his compliance review. They provide no new insights into these matters, nor do we accept that they call into question Home Office conduct or regulation of the Imutran research in any way. In addition, in October 2003, we provided the Home Affairs Committee with a detailed response to a number questions about the Imutran research. This response is available on the Home Office website.
	The Imutran licences were revoked in July 2000, following a decision by Imutran and its parent company, Novartis, to transfer its research programme to North America. No xenotransplantation work is now undertaken at Huntingdon Life Sciences.
	I wrote to all Members of Parliament on 15 December 2003 answering the points raised in the latest letter sent by Uncaged Campaigns about the Imutran xenotransplantation research.

O2/Police Information and Technology Organisation

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the role of individual police authorities is in the public private partnership between O2 and the Police Information and Technology Organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) is a non-departmental public body of the Home Office. The PITO Board includes Association of Police Authorities (APA) members who represent individual police authorities.
	The Airwave contract for the new police radio system was awarded by PITO to BT under the Private Finance Initiative, and novated to Airwave mmO2 in November 2001 following the demerger of BT and mmO2.
	The Airwave contract was approved by the PITO Board and agreed by all police authorities. It is monitored by the Airwave Programme Board, where APA members represent the interests of individual police authorities.

Police Funding

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account was taken of the extra bank holidays in 2004–05 in the police financial settlement.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 1 December 2003
	Account is not taken of variable numbers of bank holidays when determining the annual police grant settlement. Accommodating changes from year to year is a matter for police local management.

Police Funding

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional financial assistance is available from the Home Office to police authorities to cover the cost of large scale and expensive investigations.

Hazel Blears: Police forces are normally expected to meet the cost of large-scale investigations from their own budget and general reserves.
	In cases where unforeseen and exceptional costs are substantial, the Home Secretary may consider providing grant towards the additional costs. Cases are considered in the light of individual circumstances and subject to funds being available. Forces will normally be expected to meet initial costs up to 1 per cent. of their annual budget.

Murder Investigations

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account was taken of the financial impact of concurrent murder investigations in Nottingham in the recent police financial settlement.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 1 December 2003
	I have decided exceptionally this year to provide a standard rate increase of 3.25 per cent. in general grant for each police authority in England and Wales.
	Provision is made within the police funding formula for projected levels of crime, but not at the level of each individual case. It is a matter for the Chief Constable and Police Authority to determine, within the overall resources available, the deployment of resources according to operational priorities and objectives.

Murder Investigations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the sum representing the difference between the overall 4.2 per cent. cash rise and the 3.25 per cent. standard increase in allocation to police authorities will be spent; how much of it will be allocated to the London Metropolitan Police area; when it will be paid; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Total provision for policing to be supported by grant will increase by 4.2 per cent. in 2004–05. This includes principal formula police grant, revenue support grant and the share of national non-domestic rates available to police authorities, specific grants, capital grants, direct Home Office spending and the share of formula spending attributable to local council tax precept under revenue support grant arrangements.
	All police authorities in England and Wales will receive a standard increase in unhypothecated general police grant (comprising Home Office police grant, ODPM revenue support grant and national non domestic rates) of at least 3.25 per cent.
	In addition, forces will receive grant for a number of specific initiatives. We announced details of the Crime Fighting Fund on 19 November. The Metropolitan Police will receive £73.0 million. Details of other specific initiatives from which the Metropolitan Police Service will benefit are still to be announced. These include Basic Command Unit funding, funding for Community Support Officers, the Street Crime Initiative, special priority Payments, the DNA expansion programme, counter terrorism funding as well as funding for capital purposes. The Metropolitan Police will continue to benefit from 75 per cent. funding of the London Allowance, funding towards free travel for Metropolitan Police Officers and further capital funds towards the Command Control Communications Information system project.

Police (Gloucestershire)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure that there is a new timetable for an improvement in the quality of police files in Gloucestershire by means of Crown Prosecution Service participation in police training.

Hazel Blears: Senior crown prosecutors, including the Chief Crown Prosecutor, have participated in 20 police training exercises in Gloucestershire between August and December 2003. This training has covered a number of issues including: the new charging arrangements; evidential requirements in racially aggravated offences; police file preparation and management; disclosure issues; and identification evidence.
	The result of those training exercises is being evaluated and there are plans for a limited number of further training exercises in January and February next year and it is likely the police Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) training programme will be reviewed again at that point with a view to further joint CPS/police training during next year.
	There have also been selective police/CPS training exercises designed to improve the quality of files in particularly troublesome cases and these have included rape offences and racially aggravated offences.

Presidential Visit

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost was of the police operation to provide security for the visit of President Bush.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 15 December 2003
	The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police tells me that the estimated cost of the policing operation in London for this event is £4.2 million. We also understand from Durham Constabulary that the estimated cost of the policing operation for the President's visit to Durham is £1 million.

Roadworks

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what time the (a) M20 and (b) M26 were closed to traffic on 15 December; at what time each was reopened to traffic on 16 December; and for what reason the roads were not reopened sooner.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 5 December 2003
	Sections of the M20 and M26 motorways were closed to traffic at 10.30pm on 15 December and reopened at 7am on 16 December.
	The closure was necessary to enable the police to undertake a full investigation into the three deaths which unfortunately occurred as a result of an accident there.
	The length of such investigations is affected, for example, by the need to ensure that small items of evidence are not overlooked, or where artificial light may not be adequate for the proper identification and interpretation of tyre marks, or other vehicles need to be prevented from destroying or obliterating evidence by passing over it.

Sexual Offences

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirements need to be satisfied in order to issue a Risk of Sexual Harm Order.

Paul Goggins: The Risk of Sexual Harm Order (RSHO) is a new civil preventative order which is being introduced in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. RSHOs will be available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The RSHO is designed to protect children aged under 16 (17 in Northern Ireland) from sexual harm by adults. We know that some abusers try to prepare children for sexual activity by exposing them to sexually explicit language or images. The RSHO is intended to help the police to prevent such behaviour.
	A Chief Officer of police will be able to apply for, and a court will be able to make, a RSHO in respect of a person aged 18 or over where it appears they have, on at least two occasions either:
	(a) engaged in sexual activity involving a child or in the presence of a child;
	(b) caused or incited a child to watch a person engage in sexual activity or to look at a moving or still image that is sexual;
	(c) given a child anything that relates to sexual activity or contains a reference to such activity;
	(d) communicated with a child, where any part of the communication is sexual;
	And a RSHO is necessary to protect a child (or children) from sexual harm from the defendant.
	An application for an order will be by complaint to a magistrates court. The behaviour on which the application for a RSHO is based need not amount, in itself, to a criminal offence and the defendant does not need to have a previous conviction for a sexual (or any other) offence.
	A RSHO may prohibit the defendant from doing anything which is necessary to protect a particular child, a group of children or children in general from sexual harm. The order will last for a fixed period of at least two years, or until further notice.
	Interim RSHOs will be available to allow prohibitions to be put in place prior to the main application for a RSHO being determined. RSHOs, and interim RSHOs, can be varied, renewed or discharged on further application to the magistrates court by either a chief officer of police or defendant.
	The defendant may appeal to the Crown court against the making of a RSHO or interim RSHO or any order made by a court to vary, renew or discharge a RSHO or interim RSHO.
	A breach, without reasonable excuse, of any prohibition contained in a RSHO or interim RSHO will be a criminal offence punishable by up to five years imprisonment.

Speed Cameras

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much revenue Essex police received from the operation of (a) speed and (b) red light cameras in 2002–03;
	(2)  how much was levied in fines resulting from (a) speed and (b) red light cameras in Essex in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: Information on the revenue raised from speed and red light offences detected by camera is not available.
	However the table shows, for the Essex police force area, the number of fixed penalties ordered to be paid and the number of court fines for such offences in the calendar years 1997 to 2001 (latest available). Information for 2002 will be available early in 2004.
	Not all fines and fixed penalties will have been paid.
	
		Fixed penalty and court proceedings data for speeding and traffic light offences by cameras(17),(18),(19) in the Essex police force area
		
			  Fixed penalties Court 
			 Offenceand year Number of tickets Estimated revenue(20) Number of fines(21) Total amount of fine (£) Average fine (£) 
		
		
			  Speeding offences(18)  
			 1997 18,800 753,700 880 93,900 107 
			 1998 8,700 346,600 1,700 227,400 134 
			 1999 19,800 791,400 2,100 357,400 169 
			 2000 46,300 2,007,200 2,800 317,800 115 
			 2001 81,900 4,911,100 6,500 651,200 101 
			  Traffic light offences3  
			 1997 3,400 136,800 860 67,900 79 
			 1998 2.000 78,900 910 84,600 93 
			 1999 2,700 109,500 590 48,900 83 
			 2000 3,800 165,500 850 67,700 80 
			 2001 3,700 220,980 1,100 88,400 78 
		
	
	(17) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999.
	(18) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and The Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.
	(19) Offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994.
	(20) Paid i.e. no further action.
	(21) Estimate based on £40 fixed penalty charge to October 2000. From November 2000 the penalty was raised to £60.

Speed Cameras

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued to motorists caught at each location of a fixed speed camera within a Safety Camera Partnership in (a) the year prior to installation and (b) the year subsequent to installation.

Caroline Flint: Information collected centrally on the number of fixed penalty notices issued as a result of detection by camera does not identify the type of camera used or its location.

Stop and Search

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times stop and search powers under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 were used in the vicinity of RAF Fairford between 6 March and 27 April.

Hazel Blears: There were 56 searches conducted between 6 March and 27 April 2003 under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 in the vicinity of RAF Fairford between 6 March and 27 April.

Young Offender Institutions

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often children have been held in special cells in Young Offender Institutions since January, broken down by institution; and for how long in each case.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 15 December 2003
	Data on the number of times children have been held in a special cell in each juvenile establishment since January 2003 is shown in the following table.
	Special accommodation may only be used for the temporary confinement of a violent or refractory prisoner and not as punishment. As soon as the original justification for the use of the special accommodation has ceased, the young person will be moved from that accommodation.
	
		
			 Establishment Number of occasions 
		
		
			 Ashfield 0 
			 Brinsford 5 
			 Brockhill 0 
			 Bullwood Hall 3 
			 Castington 4 
			 Eastwood Park 0 
			 Feltham 32 
			 Hindley 1 
			 Holloway 0 
			 Huntercombe 46 
			 Lancaster Farms 27 
			 New Hall 6 
			 Onley 5 
			 Pare 1 
			 Stoke Heath 14 
			 Thorn Cross 0 
			 Warren Hill 6 
			 Werrington 0 
			 Wetherby 4

NORTHERN IRELAND

Assembly Election

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to make an assessment of the procedures for obtaining postal votes in Northern Ireland; and how many (a) people applied for a postal vote in each Northern Ireland constituency and (b) postal votes were issued for the Assembly election on 26 November.

John Spellar: The Electoral Commission, which has statutory responsibility for reporting on the conduct of elections, will issue a report on the recent Assembly elections in the spring. This will include an assessment of the procedures for obtaining postal votes.
	It is not possible at this stage to provide information on how many people applied for postal votes in each Northern Ireland constituency. I will ask the Chief Electoral Officer to write to the hon. Member. However, statistics (including postal proxies) on the issuing of postal votes are as follows:
	
		
			 Constituency Total number of Absent vote issues 
		
		
			 Belfast, East 502 
			 Belfast, North 620 
			 Belfast, South 573 
			 Belfast, West 543 
			 East Antrim 477 
			 E. Londonderry 1,427 
			 Fermanagh & South Tyrone 4,327 
			 Foyle 1,434 
			 Lagan Valley 1,022 
			 Mid-Ulster 2,814 
			 Newry & Armagh 1,863 
			 North Antrim 1,061 
			 North Down 563 
			 South Antrim 557 
			 South Down 1,701 
			 Strangford 709 
			 Upper Bann 1,118 
			 West Tyrone 2,942 
			 Total 24,253

Assembly Election

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many eligible voters in each Northern Ireland constituency were turned away from polling stations in Northern Ireland on 26 November for not having correct identification for the Assembly election.

John Spellar: The type of identification brought by voters was recorded for approximately 92 per cent. of all voters at the Assembly election on 26 November. Particularly during the busiest times of polling day not all information on identification was recorded.
	Approximately 3,493 electors were recorded as having brought the wrong identification documents or no identification whatsoever. However, there is evidence that some of these returned before the close of poll with an alternative, correct form of ID and were able to cast their vote at that time.
	The totals recorded are as follows:
	
		
			 Constituency Total number of voters with wrong or no identification 
		
		
			 Belfast, East 128 
			 Belfast, North 148 
			 Belfast, South 139 
			 Belfast, West 246 
			 East Antrim 145 
			 E. Londonderry 133 
			 Fermanagh & South Tyrone 254 
			 Foyle 211 
			 Lagan Valley 153 
			 Mid-Ulster 266 
			 Newry & Armagh 304 
			 North Antrim 240 
			 North Down 125 
			 South Antrim 161 
			 South Down 192 
			 Strangford 158 
			 Upper Bann 247 
			 West Tyrone 243

Belfast City Airport

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the main interested parties and local resident groups in relation to the review of the Planning Agreement affecting (a) traffic volumes and (b) operational hours at Belfast City Airport; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: I have not received any approach from Belfast City Airport about a review of the Planning Agreement and therefore have had no discussions with the main interested parties or local residents groups in relation to either traffic volumes or operational hours.

Benefit Payment Arrangements

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding was allocated for the advertising campaign for the direct payment of pensions and benefits.

John Spellar: The amount of funding allocated to the advertising campaign for direct payment in Northern Ireland to March 2004 is £728,930. To date the Social Security Agency has invested £591,430.

Civil Service (Fair Employment)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what options are available to applicants to the Northern Ireland Civil Service when declaring their religion on its fair employment monitoring form; what plans he has to amend the arrangements to cater for a wider variety of community backgrounds; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Since 1990, employers in Northern Ireland, including the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), have had a legal duty under fair employment legislation to monitor the community background of their workforces and of those applying to fill vacancies.
	The legislation requires the NICS to ask applicants, in writing, whether they belong to the Protestant or the Roman Catholic community or to neither community. The NICS meets this requirement by asking each applicant to complete an equal opportunities monitoring form, which is included with every job application form. Applicants are asked to select one of the following options:
	I have a Protestant community background
	I have a Roman Catholic community background
	I have neither a Protestant nor a Roman Catholic community background
	There are no plans to amend the monitoring Regulations and, as the NICS is bound by these Regulations, neither are there plans to change the Service's current arrangements to include other community backgrounds.

Compensation Agency

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many claims for compensation have been paid by the Compensation Agency in respect of damage to Orange halls in each of the past five years, broken down by county; and what the total value was of the compensation paid for these claims;
	(2)  how many claims for compensation made to the Compensation Agency have been unsuccessful in respect of damage to Orange halls in each of the past five years, broken down by county;
	(3)  how many claims for compensation have been made to the Compensation Agency in respect of damage to Orange halls in each of the past five years, broken down by county;
	(4)  how many Chief Constable's certificates have been issued in respect of claims made to the Compensation Agency for damage to Orange halls in each of the past five years, broken down by county.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of the Compensation Agency has written to the hon. Gentleman. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Doctors

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact on the Health Service in Northern Ireland of the restriction in working hours of junior doctors under the European Working Time Directive, with particular reference to (a) ward numbers and (b) specialist services.

Angela Smith: From August 2004, doctors in training will become subject to the working restrictions applicable under the European Working Time Directive. A substantial programme of work is under way, in partnership with the HPSS Boards and Trusts here, to ensure compliance with this Directive across all employing organisations, and all specialties within each organisation.
	Trusts have been asked to provide action plans showing how they will achieve compliance with the EWTD by August 2004. The HPSS Junior Doctors Implementation Support Group, established in 2001 to oversee implementation of the New Deal for Doctors in Training, is currently assessing these Action Plans and is taking a regional view of how EWTD will impact. The Implementation Support Group is expected to make recommendations to my Department shortly on the best way forward.
	To support HPSS Employers, my Department has already published a range of guidance on EWTD, monitoring Junior Doctor working patterns and developing new means of delivering the service. In addition, we are currently monitoring the progress of a number of pilot projects that are being undertaken within the NHS in England. These pilots are developing and testing further methods of how employers can achieve compliance with the European Working Time Directive. My Department will be seeking to determine which of these pilots can apply in an equally beneficial manner within the Health Service in Northern Ireland.

Fuel Poverty

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to assist those pensioners with small occupational pensions or savings who are not eligible for the Warm Homes Scheme to upgrade to a non-manual central heating system.

John Spellar: The eligibility criteria for the Warm Homes Scheme is kept under regular review to ensure that as many vulnerable people as possible can benefit. For example, it was recently revised to include pension credit.
	Pensioners with additional income who are ineligible for assistance through the Warm Homes Scheme may qualify for a Disabled Facilities Grant which includes provision for assistance towards the cost of replacing heating systems.

Fuel Poverty

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average time taken in the last 12 months was to process assessments of applications to upgrade heating systems through the Northern Ireland Housing Executive's Disabled Facilities Grant Scheme, broken down by Health and Social Services trust area.

John Spellar: The information is not available in the format requested as works required to be carried out in a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) application are not recorded separately. DFG covers a wide range of works for access to and around a house as well as facilities within a house. Where a heating upgrade is required this is likely to form only a small part of the works required.
	In DFG cases generally, the average time taken from date of receipt of preliminary inquiry to the issue of schedule of works for DFGs in the year up to the end of October 2003 was 278 days. This figure includes the time for the occupational therapist's assessment, which took an average of 192 days.
	Once the applicant has decided to proceed with the grant application, the average time from the receipt of completed documentation to the issue of formal approval, including the test of resources, was 131 days. Over the last six months 98 per cent. of cases have been processed within the agreed target time of 26 weeks.
	The Housing Executive is currently reviewing its arrangements regarding the processing of DFG cases with the aim of further reducing the processing time for the stages that are within its direct control.

Hare Population

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in introducing the proposed temporary ban on the killing or taking of Irish hares; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: Having carefully considered all the objections to the proposed ban, I have decided to proceed with making a Special Protection Order, under the Game Preservation Act (NI) 1928, which will impose a ban on the killing, taking, sale or purchase of Irish Hares with effect from 19 January 2004 for a period of one year.
	This temporary ban is a precautionary measure which will allow the Department of the Environment the opportunity to conduct further detailed research on the Irish Hare in early 2004. The results of this research work will inform the Department's conclusions on the level of protection required for the Irish Hare, as part of a current overall review of the Wildlife (NI) Order 1985. This review will consider the status of several species of animals, birds and plants, with a view to providing adequate protection for a wide range of Northern Ireland's varied wildlife.

Housing

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many public sector dwellings are in the ownership of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in the Portstewart area; and what plans are in place to provide for social housing in this area.

John Spellar: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive has 209 properties in the Portstewart area and has identified a requirement for an additional 22 houses that will be built by Housing Associations. Some sites for these properties have already been acquired and four houses have been built while eight are programmed to start in 2004–05. Housing Associations, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, are actively investigating possible locations for other sites for the remaining 10 properties.

Housing

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the potential demand for new homes in Northern Ireland in the next five years; whether he expects this demand to be met; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: The Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland 2025 established a need for 160,000 additional dwellings in Northern Ireland by 2015 and 250,000 by 2025.
	Progress is monitored and reported annually. The Strategy will be reviewed in 2011/2012 to consider if major changes of direction are required in light of new trends and circumstances. There will be a focused reassessment of the Regional Development Strategy in 2006/2006 to identify any aspects where 'in course' adjustments might be appropriate.
	In terms of social housing, the Net Stock Model—the basis for calculating the number of social houses to be built has identified a need for some 1,500 annually. The model is, however, currently under review and the figures will be adjusted in the light of this. I will continue to bid for the funding to support whatever level of new build social housing is required.

Midwife-led Maternity Units

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what means he used to find out what people think of the Government's proposals for establishing stand-alone, midwife-led maternity units.

Angela Smith: In line with my predecessor's commitment, I issued a consultation document on Community Midwifery Units on 30 June 2003.
	As part of the consultation process, advertisements were placed in the main regional newspapers. The consultation document was made available on my Department's website and was also issued to a wide range of organisations and individuals. In addition, my Department commissioned the Community Development and Health Network to undertake a series of focus groups across Northern Ireland. These focus groups were specifically targeted to obtain responses from both potential service users and those groups least likely to respond to government consultations.
	The consultation period closed on 31 October. Officials are now in the process of drawing together an analysis of the responses received.

Modern Apprenticeship Courses

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people enrolled on a modern apprenticeship course in September 2003.

Jane Kennedy: 869 young people were enrolled on a Jobskills Modern Apprenticeship programme during September 2003.

Northern Ireland Housing Executive

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Northern Ireland Housing Executive plans for reducing the time taken to process grant applications for home improvements.

John Spellar: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive has initiated the Modernising the Private Sector Improvement Services project. The main aim of this project is to streamline the grants process and make it easier for applicants. Preliminary work has been undertaken on the project including a review of processes and the preparation of detailed requirements for a new Grants Management IT System. Work on the IT system is planned to start early in 2004 and it is anticipated that it will be complete in two years. However, it is expected that, during this process, procedures will be identified that can be streamlined within the overall timeframe for the project.
	Applications for small scale works made under Home Repairs Assistance Grant, which was introduced from 1 December 2003, can be processed in a comparatively short time to help the elderly and those with disabilities.

Election Candidates

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is on whether a member of the (a) Human Rights Commission and (b) Equality Commission may accept a nomination to contest an election for (i) a district council, (ii) the Northern Ireland Assembly and (iii) the Westminster Parliament; and what account he took of the Paris Principles in determining that policy.

John Spellar: Members of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Equality Commission cannot accept a nomination to contest an election for the Northern Ireland Assembly or the Westminster Parliament under the terms of the Northern Ireland Assembly Disqualification Act 1975 and the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975.

Post Office

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the major banking groups in Northern Ireland regarding access to bank accounts at post offices.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	All the major banking groups in Northern Ireland are playing a full role in universal banking services at the Post Office, making their own basic bank accounts accessible at post offices and contributing towards the costs of the Post Office card account. Whether they provide access to other accounts at post offices is a commercial matter between the individual banks and the Post Office. I would welcome all banks making all their current accounts accessible at post offices for the benefit of their customers.

Post Office

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have opened a Post Office Card Account.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	I understand from Post Office Ltd. as of 5 December 2003, 1,165,147 Post Office card accounts had been opened.

Public Transport

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vehicles in the (a) Ulsterbus fleet and (b) Citybus fleet are (i) in operation and (ii) undergoing repair and maintenance.

John Spellar: Translink has advised that routinely 1025 buses in the Ulsterbus fleet are operational and 114 are undergoing repair and maintenance and 226 buses in the Citybus fleet are operational and 40 are undergoing repair and maintenance.

Roads

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to amend the criteria used to determine the need for road dualling on major trunk roads; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Roads Service has written to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Sexual Health Services

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he will take to increase funding for sexual health services in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Department, through its Regional Advisory Committee on Communicable Disease Control, commissioned a local review of sexual health issues. The resulting comprehensive report on "Sexually Transmitted Infections and Genito-urinary Medicine Services" was issued to Health and Social Services Boards and Trusts for implementation on 14 April 2003.
	This was followed by the Department's "Sexual Health Promotion Strategy and Action Plan", which has been issued for a period of consultation finishing on 19 March 2004. The aim of the Strategy is to improve, protect and promote the sexual health and well-being of the population in Northern Ireland, along with addressing issues relating to education, access to information and services. It also addresses issues such as reducing rates of sexually transmitted infections and Aids.
	In the meantime, my Department, in conjunction with Boards and Trusts, is identifying opportunities to improve Genito-urinary Medicine services, along with the necessary resources to sustain service development.

University Students

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of students attending university in each of the last five years came from families where (a) one or more of the parents also attended university and (b) neither parent attended university.

Jane Kennedy: The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) does not collect information on the past educational participation of current students' parents.

University Students

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students who enrolled at university in Northern Ireland failed to complete their course in each of the last five years.

Jane Kennedy: The following table (published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England) details the number of full-time, first degree, entrants to university in Northern Ireland who neither continued into the following year of their course nor successfully completed their programme of study, over the period 1996–97 to 2000–01.
	
		
			 Year of entry Number of non-completers 
		
		
			 2000–01 694 
			 1999–2000 625 
			 1998–99 931 
			 1997–98 566 
			 1996–97 513

WORK AND PENSIONS

Draft Disability Discrimination Bill

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons it is proposed to extend the definition of disability in the Draft Disability Discrimination Bill to include people infected by HIV.

Maria Eagle: People with progressive conditions, such as HIV infection, are already covered by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 from the point at which the condition gives rise to an impairment which has some effect on their ability to carry out day-to-day activities, and which will be likely to have a substantial adverse effect. The Government are proposing to cover people with HIV infection before symptoms develop because it is concerned that discrimination can arise at a much earlier stage.

Assaults on Staff

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) physical and (b) non-physical assaults there have been on staff in the (i) Employment Service, (ii) Benefits Agency and (iii) Jobcentre Plus in each year since 2001; how many prosecutions resulted; what penalties were handed down; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 15 December 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your question on the number of physical and non-physical assaults there have been on staff in the Employment Service, Benefits Agency and Jobcentre Plus in each year since 2001 and how many prosecutions and penalties resulted. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
	Information on the number of incidents occurring in our offices since 2001 is in the table:
	
		Physical and Non-Physical Assaults 2001–2003
		
			  2001 2002 2003(24) 
			  Physical contact Verbal abuse Physical contact Verbal abuse Physical contact Verbal abuse 
		
		
			 ES Offices 222 3,637 44 1,026 — — 
			 BA Offices 135 4,910 34 1,128 — — 
			 Pathfinder Offices(22) 1 108 2 171 — — 
			 Jobcentre Plus(23) — — 207 4,299 188 5,648 
		
	
	(22) Pathfinder Offices commenced on 1 October 2001.
	(23) Jobcentre Plus was launched April 2002. All sites were Jobcentre Plus sites from that date.
	(24) Data reported for 2003 is up to and including 28 November.
	Source:
	Occupational Health and Safety Division
	Physical contact is when a customer directly touches a member of staff with or without an object. It includes striking, pushing, spitting and throwing of objects—large or small. Non-physical contact mainly involves verbal abuse but can include throwing of objects that miss or hit screens.
	Historically there has been under-reporting of incidents. Increased awareness of Health and Safety and encouragement by management and trade unions to report incidents have contributed to the increased number of incidents being notified.
	Information on prosecutions and penalties since Jobcentre Plus came into existence is shown in the table below. We do not have information available for 2001. Data on penalties indicates the number of banning orders imposed on customers who have a history of behaving in an unacceptable manner. Banning orders prevent these customers from entering any Jobcentre Plus premises.
	
		
			  Prosecutions Penalties 
		
		
			 2002 1 430 
			 2003 1 600 
		
	
	Source:
	Occupational Health and Safety Division
	I hope this is helpful.

Fareham Jobcentre

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many staff are located at the former jobcentre premises at 187–199 West Street, Fareham;
	(2)  what the (a) annual rental and (b) unexpired lease period is of the former jobcentre premises at 187–199 West Street, Fareham;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on the future use by the Department of the former jobcentre premises at 187–199 West Street, Fareham.

Des Browne: holding answer 11 December 2003
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 15 December 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your questions about the use by Jobcentre Plus of the former Jobcentre premises at 187–199 West Street, Fareham. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
	Jobcentre Plus has been established to deliver a radical change in the way that benefits and employment services are provided to people of working age. By 2006, we plan to introduce a network of around 1000 fully integrated Jobcentre Plus offices.
	The Jobcentre Plus Implementation Programme for Hampshire commenced in June 2002. Following a period of consultation, the former Social Security Office at Civic Way, Fareham, was identified as being suitable for use as a new Jobcentre Plus site. Following adaptations to the premises, the new office opened on 22 April 2003.
	It was clear throughout this process that the site, though suitable for the delivery of the new Jobcentre Plus services, would not be big enough to house all of the staff currently working in Fareham. Therefore, the premises at 187–199 West Street, formerly the Jobcentre, was retained as an "overspill" site. Further acquisitions, together with other new Jobcentre Plus sites that open during the coming months, may influence space requirements across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. This in turn, may impact upon the need to retain the use of this particular building.
	Currently, the office accommodates a total of 35 staff, transferred following the opening of our new Jobcentre Plus site. Of this total, eleven are engaged in the processing of Jobseeker's Allowance claims; twelve are staff from the Pensions Service and twelve from the Counter Fraud Investigation Service. The present complement of Counter Fraud Investigation Service staff will be joined by a further fourteen members of staff from our Employer Collusion Team with effect from 14 January 2004.
	The premises at West Street, with effect from 15 December 2003, will be controlled by TRILLIUM, under the Private Sector Resource Initiative for the Management of Estate. For this reason, information about annual rental and lease agreement is classed as commercial in confidence and so cannot be provided.
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobseekers

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the pre-Budget report, paragraph 4.10, if he will list those organisations that will delivery mandatory short intensive work-focused courses for all jobseeker's allowance claimants aged 25 or over at the six month stage; and if he will list the pilot areas.

Des Browne: The mandatory short intensive work-focused courses for jobseeker's allowance claimants aged 25 and over will be piloted from June 2005. Following detailed planning and development, we will seek skilled providers through normal Jobcentre Plus procurement processes. Pilot areas are yet to be selected.

New Deal

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  pursuant to the pre-Budget report, paragraph 4.62, what independent assessment has been undertaken to learn from the best current New Deal provision;
	(2)  pursuant to the pre-Budget report, paragraph 4.63, what independent assessment has been undertaken to consider the scope for simplifying current processes to make systems easier for (a) employers, (b) clients, (c) advisers and (d) providers.

Des Browne: We have commissioned a large amount of independent research on the New Deals including: "Synthesising the evidence on flexible delivery" (W171: ECOTEC and Insite, October 2003); "New Deal for Young People: Introducing a more 'tailored' approach" (W164: ECOTEC and Insite, September 2003); and "New Deal for people aged 25 and over: A Synthesis Report" (W163: Policy Studies Institute, June 2003), which are available in the Library. Independent research has not been undertaken to look specifically at simplifying current processes.
	We will be looking critically at our administration of employment programmes to identify whether there is scope for simplification.

Pensions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to amend the 25 per cent. rule to enable those with less than 10 years' full contributions to receive a pension.

Malcolm Wicks: We have no plans to change the 25 per cent. rule.

Winter Fuel Payments

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual cost of sending out reminder letters to pensioners informing them that they are entitled to receive winter fuel payments was in each year since inception of the payments; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Information is not available in the format requested. In accordance with the requirements of Resource Accounting and Budgeting the Department now accounts for its administration and benefit expenditure by Strategic Objective, as set out in its Public Service Agreements (PSA), and by individual requests for Resources (RfRs) as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts. This means that the Department is unable to identify the administrative costs of individual activities within the delivery of specific benefits.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

House of Lords

Lady Hermon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of peers who would be interested in relinquishing their right to sit in the House of Lords.

Christopher Leslie: The Government have not made any formal assessment of the number of peers who would be interested in relinquishing their current right to sit in the Lords, but have sought views on the desirability of introducing provisions to allow for voluntary resignation from the Lords in their Consultation paper, "Constitutional Reform; Next Steps for the House of Lords". The Government are currently analysing all the responses submitted during the consultation exercise, including a number of responses from peers, and will publish their analysis of the consultation responses, along with their plans for reform of the House of Lords in due course.

House of Lords

Lady Hermon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many members he expects the statutory independent Appointments Commission for the House of Lords will have; how many members of the Commission will be appointed; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The recent consultation paper, "Next Steps for the House of Lords", consulted on the proposed statutory independent Appointments Commission for the House of Lords. The consultation period ended on 12 December 2003, and the Government are in the process of analysing responses to the consultation. The Government will publish an analysis of the consultation in due course, and intend to introduce legislation this session to establish the new Commission.

House of Lords

Lady Hermon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many responses he received to the "Constitutional Reform: Next Steps for the House of Lords" consultation document; how many of these responses came from (a) Government Departments and agencies, (b) political parties and hon. Members, (c) peers currently serving in the House of Lords, (d) peers removed under the House of Lords Act 1999, (e) main representative groups and interested parties and (f) ecclesiastical representatives and organisations in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland; and when the Government intend to issue their response to the responses received.

Christopher Leslie: The consultation period for the consultation paper, "Constitutional Reform: Next Steps for the House of Lords", closed on 12 December 2003. By 18 December, 204 responses had been received from a range of interested parties and responses are still being received. The Government are still considering those responses, including a precise analysis of who responded, and will publish that information and their conclusions in due course.

Draft Mental Incapacity Bill

David Drew: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications for an individual of having a parent, sibling or peer designated with enduring power of attorney, with particular reference to the Draft Mental Incapacity Bill.

David Lammy: Under the Draft Mental Incapacity Bill, an individual will be able to create a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). LPAs will replace the current Enduring Power of Attorneys and will allow donors to appoint attorneys to make either financial decisions or health care and welfare decisions on their behalf, should they lose capacity in the future.
	In making an LPA, individuals will have choice on who they appoint as an attorney—there is no limitation to a parent, sibling or peer. The important factor is that the individual chooses someone that they know and trust.

Draft Mental Incapacity Bill

David Drew: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans his Department has to support the work of professionals who are required to give evidence to the Court of Protection under the provisions of the Draft Mental Incapacity Bill.

David Lammy: Under the Draft Mental Incapacity Bill, the Court of Protection will be available to deal with cases of dispute which cannot be resolved in any other way. The intention is that most cases, as now, will not need to be resolved by formal processes. The procedures will make it simple for professionals and others to make representations to the court.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Regional Assemblies

Andrew George: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the range of (a) non-departmental public bodies and (b) other autonomous public bodies operating in the Government regions of the (i) north-east, (ii) north-west and (iii) Yorkshire and the Humber where functions could be brought under the control of the proposed regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: Public bodies in the north-east including those that would be brought under elected assemblies were set out in the White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions", published in May 2002. Similar arrangements apply in the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber. Since then the Government have confirmed that Elected Regional Assemblies will also assume responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service in their region.

Regional Assemblies

David Curry: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the cost was of literature printed for the information campaign, "Elected Regional Assembly: Your Say";
	(2)  what the cost was of each item of promotional material for the information campaign, "Elected Regional Assembly: Your Say".

Nick Raynsford: Material produced for the design of the Your Say information campaign, such as exhibition stands and leaflets will continue to be used throughout the information campaign in the three northern regions.
	The available cost breakdown for literature and other promotional material so far are:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Creative costs 40,000 
			 Leaflet design, including photography, artwork and printing 31,500 
			 Translations 10,000 
			 Exhibition stands 49,000 
			 Stakeholder and press packs for the launch 4,000

Fire Authority Grant

Helen Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister by how much in total fire authorities have exceeded their grant increase over each of the past five years.

Nick Raynsford: The amount by which the increase in fire authority precepts has exceeded the increase in grant for the years 1998–99 to 2003–04 is tabled as follows.
	
		
			 Period Amount by which increase in precepts exceeds grants to the nearest whole £ million 
		
		
			 1998–99 to 1999–2000 0 
			 1999–2000 to 2000–01 0 
			 2000–01 to 2001–02 -3 
			 2001–02 to 2002–03 -1 
			 2002–03 to 2003–04 8 
		
	
	This table covers the six Metropolitan County Fire authorities. These were the only single-service fire authorities which received grants and which were in existence throughout the period from 1998–99 to 2003–04. In each year, grants have been compared with previous years' grants on a like-for-like basis, taking into account adjustments for changes in function and funding.
	The data for the years 1998–99 to 2002–03 is outturn data taken from the RS forms. The data for 2003–04 is budget data taken from the RA forms as outturn data is not yet available. These forms are completed each year by individual local authorities.
	The grants included are redistributed business rates and Revenue Support Grant. Amounts received under the SSA Reduction Grant (SSA Review) and Central Support Protection Grant have also been included, where appropriate.

Fire Service College

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister in relation to the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, what the total Government grant was in the last financial year; for what purposes it was given; for what reason the college made a loss in the last financial year; and why the annual accounts for the year ended March 2003 state that the college is unlikely to do better than break-even in the year to 31 March 2004.

Phil Hope: Grant totalling £625,000 was paid to the Fire Service College in 2002–03, for the Brigade Command Course. The College's ability to trade in both the latter part of 2002–03 and the first quarter of 2003–04 was adversely affected by the fire dispute, which resulted in the cancellation of courses. Overseas trading by the College was also constrained by the international situation. The introduction of the Integrated Personal Development System (IPDS) in the UK Fire and Rescue Service from November 2003 is requiring the development of a new suite of IPDS-compliant training courses by the College to replace traditional courses. This has caused some disruption in business as fire and rescue services adapted to the new requirements and delayed the take-up of some College training capacity this year.

Fire Service College

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps are being taken to integrate the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, training facilities with regional fire service training facilities; what steps are being taken to encourage foreign fire service training business to the college; what investigations are being undertaken into the feasibility of privatising or other alternative trading methods for the college; and what other trading opportunities the college is investigating.

Phil Hope: The White Paper "Our Fire and Rescue Service" published in June 2003 sets out a vision for the Fire Service College as a national Centre of Excellence for the UK Fire and Rescue Service (UKFRS), and further details on the College's role are provided in the Draft Fire and Rescue National Framework published in December 2003. The Framework trails a national workforce development strategy that will set out the respective roles for training providers at national, regional and local level. There are no specific proposals to integrate the College's facilities with regional fire service training facilities.
	The College is working to develop other markets both in the UK fire industry and with overseas fire and rescue services. It is developing an enhanced training portfolio, with increased emphasis on outreach training, and distance and e-learning capabilities. Options for involving private sector partners in aspects of the College's trading are being actively explored.

Homelessness

Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many people were homeless in (a) London and (b) England in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many families have claimed to be homeless in (a) London and (b) England in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 5 January 2004, Official Report, column 142W.

Housing

John Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the housing industry on the relationship between mortgage ineligibility of young people and access to affordable housing.

Keith Hill: None, but wider issues about affordable housing are discussed with the housing industry on many occasions.

Housing

Helen Clark: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what impact the Inland Revenue's ruling of 24 October will have on the standard of housing in Peterborough;
	(2)  what impact the delay in the transfer of homes to Crosskeys Homes will have on the local authority's short-to-medium term housing policy.

Keith Hill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 15 December 2003, Official Report, columns 745–46W.

Housing

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many new or additional homes he expects to be provided in (a) the South East and (b) the South West by the end of 2006; and how many of these homes he expects to be available at affordable prices for households on average income.

Keith Hill: Regional Planning Guidance 9 for the South East and 10 for the South West each require, over the six year period to the end of 2006 for approximately 234,000 and 121,000 additional dwellings to be provided in the wider South East (including Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire) and the South West respectively. Of these the indicative targets in the two RPGs indicate that at least 108,000 and 36,000 additional dwellings should be provided over this period at affordable prices for households on or below average income.

Nuclear Power Stations

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the minimum building distance from a nuclear power station is, for industrial structures which are not part of the plant.

Keith Hill: There is no specified minimum distance that has to be maintained between a nuclear power station and another industrial structure that is not a part of the power station plant. The decision on whether any proposed development should be permitted to take place within the vicinity of a nuclear power station is a matter for the local planning authority, taking advice from the Health and Safety Executive on the suitability of the development with regard to the potential off-site risk.

Planning Inspectorate

Denzil Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many persons applied for the recently advertised post of non-executive director to serve on the Management Board and Audit Committee of the Planning Inspectorate.

Yvette Cooper: 21 people applied for the posts, of whom 12 were male and nine female. Seven candidates were selected for interview, three male and four female. Elizabeth Peace and Jonathan Vickers were selected to take up the appointments from 1 January 2004. Both appointments will run for two years with an option to extend for another two.

Regional Housing Boards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the priorities of each of the regional housing boards in England.

Keith Hill: The Regional Housing Boards were asked to identify each region's priorities in line with their Regional Housing Strategies. These were drawn up by those organisations represented on the Board, in full consultation with key regional stakeholders. The priorities reflect not only regionally identified issues, but also national policies. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has allocated nearly £5 billion for next year and the year after to address the priorities set out in the Regional Housing Strategies.